Before the Worst
by PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: Cecily Harrison and Elizabeth Peterson are vampires that were in love with the Salvatore brothers. The four are all in Mystic Falls for their own reasons and trying to start over, but their past is following them. Stefan/OC/OC; Damon/OC/Jeremy
1. How it All Began

**AUTHORS' NOTE:**

**Monique and Kyla here, bringing you a TVD Fic that we are madly in love with, so we shall be updating as often as we can with it.**

**There will be a **_**lot**_** of flashbacks as we go so we don't want to give **_**too**_** much away here, just read.**

**WARNINGS: Language, Violence, Sex, Drugs, Drinking, Blood, Dark Themes**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

Cecily Harrison looked up from her book and rolled her eyes as Katherine Pierce spoke to her about the Salvatores and about how fun they were. To be fair, Cecily hadn't _always_ been a stick in the mud, but ever since she had been turned into a vampire she had wanted to lay low—wanted to keep her life. She enjoyed feeding and messing around, but Katherine's actions were going to get them caught and she didn't want that.

Katherine, on the other hand, wanted to have the Salvatores all to herself and if that meant turning them, then that meant turning them. Cecily had been drawn to Stefan since she had gotten there, hating the way that Katherine had been treating the boys—tricking them into feeding, controlling them. She tried to force everyone to do what _she_ wanted them to do and Cecily didn't like to follow her rules.

"You're such a stick in the mud, Cee." Katherine told her as she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Cecily's eyes snapped open. "Don't call me that."

"Oh, because Stefan gave you that nickname?" Katherine teased, fixing her dress after their servants had made sure her corset was set.

"No, because you don't use it as an endearing term." Cecily replied, shutting her book and heading over to the window, looking out of it at Stefan and Damon playing in the yard with an old, worn football.

Ever since they had come to the Salvatore Mansion, Katherine had been trying to get the Salvatores on her side. Cecily had already become friends with them and Katherine had become their love interest, playing their emotions and telling them what to think and do. It was sort of disgusting as far as Cecily was concerned, but at the same time she knew that part of her was just jealous—she was jealous that both Damon _and_ Stefan focused almost _all_ of their attention on Katherine.

She was simply after attention. Katherine didn't care who got hurt or who got in her way and that was why Cecily wanted to leave her. The two of them had been traveling together for a couple of decades and Cecily knew the importance of having to stick together, which was why there was a small group of vampires at the Salvatore Mansion—they were safer in a group. Still, sometimes Cecily wanted to head out on her own and do her own thing…she just wasn't sure if she would make it or not.

"Stefan is quite the ball player, isn't he?" Katherine asked her, coming over to the window with her and looking down at the boys. "He and Damon both."

Cecily gave Katherine a look. "You know, not everything is about boys."

"You were a lot more fun _before_ we started traveling together." Katherine said shaking her head and heading for the bedroom door.

"_One_ of us has to look out for us—this isn't just about _you_ Katherine…this is about our _entire_ group." Cecily reminded her. "If the Salvatores want to join us, then so be it, but how about wrapping up your fun?"

Katherine smiled mischievously. "I'll wrap up my fun when I'm ready to wrap up my fun."

xx

"This is Katherine's fault! We're not going back for her! We're better off without her as far as I'm concerned." Cecily said hurriedly as she, Anna and a handful of other vampires hid a few miles from the Salvatore property, outside of Mystic Falls jurisdiction.

Stefan's and Damon's father had figured out what was going on—they had figured out what Katherine was and had drugged her and killed a couple of vampires. Cecily had gotten most of the group to safety and needed to find Damon and Stefan because they were in their transition…they were in the state where they had to choose. Honestly Cecily wanted them to choose to become vampires, but for that they needed to drink human blood and she wasn't sure either of them would choose that with Katherine gone.

"I'm going to talk to them—you guys stay safe." Cecily ordered, and then she was off, finding the brothers near a creek in the woods.

She smiled as she approached them, both of them talking to each other as the breeze blew. It was warm out and aside from running for their 'lives', it was a perfect summer day and she wanted to stay. Cecily wanted to simply talk to the boys and perhaps play some catch or flirt…but that was Katherine's forte. Katherine had always been the playful one, and she had always been the one that had caught the attention of the Salvatores by flaunting what she had.

"Cee," Stefan breathed out happily, embracing her when she approached them, "we're so glad you made it out!"

Cecily smiled and nodded, pulling back and glancing from Stefan to Damon and then back to Stefan. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Katherine is gone?" Damon asked her pointedly.

"Yes…she was in the church when it burned." Cecily explained as Damon nodded sadly. "Did she explain the transition to you? You only have 24 hours to choose what you want—die for good, or become a vampire."

"I choose death." Damon said firmly, Stefan looking at the ground.

Cecily understood the love for Katherine that the boys had, but she honestly didn't understand why they would want to go. Yes, they had been turned just to be with Katherine, but there was more that they could do without her there. There was a whole world to see and honestly without Katherine trying to focus all of the attention on herself, they would all have a lot more fun.

In fact eventually Stefan and Damon decided that they were going to be vampires, but Damon grew bitter and Cecily found her place was with them. After helping the other survivors of the church and mansion attack, Cecily gave up trying to control things and went on a spree with the boys, all of them drinking blood and using humans as they saw fit. Soon Cecily grew back into her playful demeanor and she and Stefan struck up a romance before they ran into the one person who would soon be the newest and just as loved member of the group, Elizabeth Peterson.

xx

Damon Salvatore walked out of the bathroom, wearing his best suit, smiling ever so softly. Stefan looked up at him and chuckled, taking in the sight of his brother all dressed up and looking proper.

"You love her," Stefan said to his brother as Cecily walked into the room curling up beside him.

He kissed the top of her head as Cecily smiled and looked Damon up and down with her eyes, agreeing with him. Damon hadn't gone this all out before since Katherine, and it was a nice change of pace—Cecily was glad that Damon had found someone else to care about. Even _if _he was sighing and shaking his head at the mere thought of loving Elizabeth.

"Just admit you love her Damon." Cecily said smiling as Stefan wrapped his arm around her, Damon glaring at the two, as they snuggled each other on the couch.

"I do _not_ love her; she is just my toy, here to pass the time." Damon said pulling his coat on.

"That's why you're getting so dressed up right?" Cecily asked and Stefan chuckled.

Damon rolled his eyes fixing his cuffs, Cecily rolling hers as well, Stefan still chuckling. The two of them enjoyed poking fun at Damon sometimes and suddenly Damon's eyes lit up. He was going to get them off of his case—he had the perfect idea and it mad ea smile break out across his face.

"I'm going to turn her." He said, which caught Stefan's attention and he sat up pulling out of Cecily's hold.

"Damon you can't do that." Stefan said worried Damon would turn his newest and greatest friend.

Damon simply smirked and headed for the door. "Nope, you two gave me the idea, and I'm going to turn her."

He grabbed his wallet as Cecily's eyes flashed and she got up off of the couch, making her way over to him. This was what Damon did—something good started happening for him and then he did something stupid to mess it all up. Cecily stood next to him and crossed her arms over her chest, looking directly at him.

"No you won't." She said and Damon turned to her.

"What makes you say that?" He asked smirking, and Cecily smiled leaning against the wall and giving him a shrug.

"Because, Damon, you love her, and you wouldn't do that to her." She said truly believing it even as Damon smirked and opened the door.

"You asked for it." He responded before leaving Cecily and Stefan to contemplate his next moves.

xx

18 year-old Elizabeth Peterson took in a breath as she noticed Damon walk into the room, a small brunette hooked to him laughing as he guided her to his room. This was just something that Damon seemed to do, and even Stefan could sense the tension. Stefan glanced at her and put his hand on her knee.

"You okay?" He asked and she shrugged.

She groaned walking over to the record player and started it, turning it up as loud as it went, so she didn't have to hear the noises coming from Damon's room. Elizabeth missed Cecily then—if she was there she would have scowled at Damon for bringing another girl to the house while she was there still. Elizabeth leaned against the wall thinking about how Damon used to treat her. Sure he wasn't always the most lovable guy, but he had his moments…he never cheated on her, well at least where she could see him. But he wasn't how she thought he was—she figured that out when he turned her, just to prove Stefan wrong.

Elizabeth heard the girl scream, and then the noise from Damon's room died down. She heard a thunk, and then Damon walked out wiping the blood from his mouth. He smiled at Elizabeth and grabbed her by the hand pulling her to him. He pressed his lips against hers, tangling his fingers in her hair. When she didn't react back he pulled away.

"Why are you being so boring?" He asked walking over to the counter and she turned around to face him not believing him.

"Hmm, I wonder why? It couldn't be because you just fucked another girl while I was in the same room." She said and got a chuckle from Stefan, Damon turning around holding his arms out.

"Hey, you could have joined." He said and she grabbed the bowl sitting on the counter and threw it at him, though he caught it and tilted his head to the side. "No need for violence Liz. I mean she was only a meal, I had to make her happy before I, you know, ate her." He said chuckling a little and Elizabeth groaned.

"Damon, what the Hell is the matter with you?" She yelled and he shrugged walking over to her. "You say you love me, then you have sex with me, you _fed _on me turning me into a vampire. Then you make me fall in love with you! And now! Now you screw girls while I'm here, you treat me like I don't matter, do you even care?" She screamed and he smiled.

He took her face in his hands and leaned his head against hers. "No."

The moment he answered her, she growled, her eyes changing. She punched him, sending him flying backwards and she stormed from the apartment. There was only so much that she could handle, and this just seemed like the absolute last straw. That was the night Elizabeth left the love of her life—the night she left one of her dearest friends who happened to be related to him.

Elizabeth left Chicago and traveled around the country, never staying in one place. She missed her friends, Cecily and Stefan. She missed Damon and how she and Damon used to be so in love…but she knew he wouldn't love her the same way he loved Katherine. Cecily explained Katherine to Elizabeth, how she manipulated the boys into falling in love with her, playing with their hearts, and from that moment she despised Katherine. Katherine took the Damon she wished she had away from her, but she also had to thank her…because if Katherine had never fed Damon her blood, then Elizabeth would have never met him.

**Note: And there is our intro! The first chapter shall be along soon and it's like 38 pages, so be prepared! Feedback is always appreciated!**


	2. Welcome Back to Mystic Falls

**AUTHORS' NOTE:**

**Monique and Kyla here again, bringing you our **_**incredibly **_**long first chapter and hoping that it gives you insight on all of our lovely characters.**

**We're already working on the second chapter so enjoy and come back for more if you so want it.**

**WARNINGS: Language, Violence, Sex, Drugs, Drinking, Blood, Dark Themes**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

"Damon, you are such a little girl." Cecily laughed, elbowing him in the side as they sat in the cemetery.

The two had arrived in Mystic Falls at the same time, Damon thinking that Cecily had the same goal as him: resurrect Katherine. They had been in each other's company for a couple of years now, Cecily trying to rekindle what she had left behind when she'd stormed off. Damon had been failing at love ever since Katherine and he thought that by bringing her back, he'd have something else to hold onto—it was the only relationship he would admit having strong feelings about…his friendship with Cecily wasn't even something he admitted to in public.

"Says the little girl." Damon replied with a cheeky smile.

Cecily rolled her eyes and tossed a pebble onto a patch of grass near them. "I'm older than you, Kiddo."

"Maybe, but technically I was older when I was turned." Damon said, pointing a finger in her face. "Are you going to end up being a big ol' stick in the mud again? I liked you better when you loosened up."

"Why? You think I'm going to change because Stefan's here?" Cecily asked him, the smile no longer on her face.

Cecily remembered when she and Stefan had been in love—remembered when he'd been there by her side no matter what happened. In fact, Stefan was the one who got over Katherine the fastest even though he and Cecily were convinced that Damon had gotten over her too and fallen in love with Elizabeth. No mattered what happened, it had always been the four of them for a while and then it all just started falling apart.

"_What did you think you were doing?" Stefan hissed at her._

_Cecily ran her fingers through her blonde locks. "I was __**feeding**__, Stefan. That's kind of what vampires do."_

"_Besides, she was asking for it." Damon said with a shrug._

"_It's not like we didn't ask first." Elizabeth agreed, standing close to Damon._

_Stefan looked rather livid, knowing that the idea was Cecily's, storming off through the woods with the young girl in his arms. She couldn't have been more than 16, but Cecily and Damon didn't care about the age—all they cared about was making sure that everyone was fed. That was all well and good, but Stefan was trying to wean himself onto animal blood, and the scent of the blood on the young girls' neck was getting to him…why couldn't they all understand that this fate was actually cursed?_

"_I have a feeling he's going to yell again tonight." Elizabeth said miserably, pouting and then kissing Damon when he shrugged and kissed her softly, both of them sucking the remnants of blood off of each other's lips._

_Cecily wiped some of the blood off of her mouth and looked at her thumb before sucking the blood off of it too. "Stefan is just cranky from his new diet."_

"_Stefan's new diet is making him weak." Damon replied, stroking Elizabeth's dark hair and then stepping away from her abruptly, walking up to Cecily. "Can't you do something to rein him in? You're supposed to be the eldest and the wisest."_

"_I can't force him to be something that he doesn't want to be." Cecily said softly._

Damon looked at Cecily as she bowed her head a little, thinking as they sat near her parents' grave markers. He knew that look on her face better than almost anyone, and he knew who it had to do with—Stefan. She was thinking about Stefan because 1) she did it all the time, and 2) she always seemed to be lost in thought thinking about how broken their little dysfunctional vampire group had become whenever she tried to joke around with anyone.

"Stop thinking about him," Damon told her, nudging her in the ribs. "You get boring and quiet when you think about him."

Cecily shrugged softly. "I miss him…him _and_ Lizzie."

"I know what will make you feel better." Damon said in a sing-song voice, standing up and holding his hand out to her. "Do you trust me?"

"Not as far as I can throw you, but…I have a feeling cheerleader blood is involved." Cecily replied with a smile on her face.

Damon smirked and helped her to stand, linking arms with her. "There isn't a better kind of blood out there, is there?"

xx

"Excuse me," Elizabeth cleared her voice trying to get the attention of the large secretary sitting behind the counter, but the woman chose to ignore her; Elizabeth had always been soft spoken and just disappeared in the back ground, but she had a hundred years on this woman and her choosing to ignore her was pissing her off. "Excuse me," she said a little a louder and the woman looked up, giving her a dirty look.

"What," The woman snapped and Elizabeth raised her eyebrows—she smacked her gum and leaned over the counter, surprising the woman.

"Let's try that again, a little politer," She said staring her directly in the eyes, compelling her.

The woman looked at her dazed and Elizabeth pulled back waiting for the woman to re-focus. "Hello miss, how may I help you?"

Elizabeth enjoyed being able to compel people to do what she wanted sometimes—it helped. The woman was now being sweet to her and a huge smile was plastered on her face, so Elizabeth grinned too and pulled out her 'transcripts'.

"That's better," She said handing them to her. "My name's Elizabeth Peterson and I'm new here."

The woman nodded and put her transcripts with a file that Elizabeth had made before she actually came into the town into the filing cabinet. All of this was going to work out for her and she knew that, so Elizabeth just kind of kept her cool as the woman talked to her.

"Yes, Elizabeth, here—your files are right here," She said standing up. "Here's your schedule, and a map of the school."

She handed them to Elizabeth, who took them, and scanned them. She immediately set to memorizing the turns of the school and where all her classes were, knowing she'd need them. Hundred years or not, she was the right age for High School and Mystic Falls just had something about it.

"Thank you ma'am," Elizabeth said smiling and left.

Elizabeth took a breath, adjusting to all the beating hearts around her. Sure she was able to control herself perfectly fine, but it still was tempting especially some of the jocks that were approaching her.

"Well hello," One said, and Elizabeth looked up at him, she was so small compared to practically everyone. "You're new." He said and Elizabeth snorted rolling her eyes at the brown eyed boy.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," She laughed walking past him.

Elizabeth smiled listening to the other boys make strange noises as they teased him by getting turned down by a 'shawty' whatever that was. Elizabeth sighed and looked around, searching for a familiar face.

Stefan Salvatore had arrived in Mystic Falls, a little before his friend. He didn't even know that she was there. So as he walked out of the office, confused at how the woman seemed a little too cheerful, he saw the small girl's back, her long dark hair falling down in soft curls, and he recognized her instantly.

"Lizzie," He called out to make sure and the small vampire grinned and turned around.

"Stefan," She said quietly and then charged at him, Stefan catching her in his arms and lifting her off the ground, Elizabeth talking into his neck. "I've missed you so much."

Stefan laughed and nodded. "I've missed you too."

He set her down and smiled down at her, a hand on the back of her head taking in his old friend. It was never romantic between them, it was more of a brother sister bond they shared and they were thankful for each other.

"_Elizabeth are you alright?" Stefan asked helping his small friend from the ground and she groaned and pulled the wooden stake from her shoulder crying out as she did so._

"_Yean I'm fine, but I'd be better if Damon wasn't stupid enough to lead a pissed of DAD towards us!" She snapped throwing the wooden stake at Damon and it hit him on the head._

_She laughed at the shocked look on his face and leaned against Stefan, who also laughed. Damon shot the two a look as Cecily walked towards them rubbing her hands together and then putting her hands on her hips._

"_Bodies are disposed and why are we laughing?" She asked staring at Stefan and Lizzie. _

"_Nothing," Liz said calming down._

_Cecily sighed as she leaned against the tree watching Stefan say something to Elizabeth that made her laugh again. Cecily smiled, happy to see the newest vampire fit in so well with their group, also happy Damon had someone he cared about—even happier Stefan had someone to take care of…feel protective over._

"_Stefan stop making fun of me to my girlfriend," Damon said picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder causing her to scream from surprise. _

"_Damon, stop put me down!" She called reaching for Stefan's hand but Damon walked along bouncing her on his shoulder._

"_No, it's off to the bedroom with you." He said disappearing into the trees, only Elizabeth's laugh being heard._

Elizabeth smiled and turned, walking along side Stefan. "What's your first class? Please say Chemistry, please say Chemistry."

Elizabeth crossed her fingers and closed her eyes as they walked, chanting. Stefan laughed at how adorable she still was and shook his head, smiling as they went. No matter how long it had been since they'd been together last, they almost felt like they'd never been apart.

"Chemistry," He said and Elizabeth opened her eyes smiling.

"I knew it! Wow, I told you Stefan, I'm physic." She said tapping her temple and Stefan laughed looking down at her.

"Still holding onto old fantasies Lizzie?" He asked and she huffed bumping him.

"It's not a fantasy." She pouted and Stefan chuckled. "Stefan?"

"Yeah?" He asked and she looked straight ahead, very serious.

"What's a 'shawty'?" She asked and Stefan laughed at her wrapping his arms around her shoulder. "Wait, what is it?" She asked not able to help the smile.

"It's what you are."

xx

Cecily had been a vampire long enough to know when other vampires were near—long enough to be able to weed out heartbeats to pinpoint specific humans as well—so when she and Damon neared the High School, Cecily swallowed. She knew that Stefan was supposed to be in Mystic Falls, but what was he doing in the High School? Was he really spending part of his vampire life span going to _High School_?

"These cheerleaders better be worth it—I haven't been laid in years and I can't promise I won't try to pick Stefan up." Cecily told Damon with a shrug.

Damon rolled his eyes. "There are hotter guys around here—pick a football player. You can live in the mansion and feed on him whenever you want…do _to_ him whatever you want."

"You're shameless—I take it you're going to pick out a cheerleader?" Cecily asked, nodding when Damon nodded and winked. "All right—I take you up on this offer, but that means I have to see Stefan and I would rather see him sooner rather than later…I haven't seen him for years."

"Not since that hook-up after your break-up, right? I've heard this story before and I don't want to hear it again." Damon told her, taking her hand and dragging her towards the football field.

Cecily laughed a little and shook her head, thinking about that night. She and Stefan hadn't seen each other for so long before that—not since she and Stefan had chosen to go their separate ways. Still, it had been a nice night of closure, pain and sex that seemed to get them through. Ever since then, Cecily had kept herself strictly fed when it came to humans, and she had a feeling that nothing was going to change that.

"_I really have missed you." Cecily told Stefan, kissing his lips gently as they lay there amongst the ruffled sheets, Stefan running his fingertips along her bare skin. "Nothing's changed though."_

_Stefan nodded and kissed her again, stroking her blonde hair. "At least we're getting closure."_

"_Yeah, at least we're getting that." Cecily responded, rested her forehead against Stefan's. "There's absolutely __**no**__ way you'll come with me?"_

"_Not when you're still __**using**__ people, Cee." Stefan replied shaking his head. "Humans are not our playthings."_

_Cecily gave him a look. "Stefan…you have to understand something—we're __**vampires**__. We feed, we use…that's just who we are."_

_Stefan shook his head. "That's not how __**I**__ am."_

"_Well that's how __**I**__ am, and that's why this is closure, then…so can we close the deal again?" Cecily asked him winking._

Damon kissed the back of Cecily's hand and then swatted her in the butt, sending her towards the school. They were both a little sad to see that there was no practice, and they looked at each other, nodding. If there was one thing that the two of them agreed about, it was that they were _not_ enrolling into High School. Cecily was here to kill Katherine for good when Damon resurrected her—that or stop Damon from doing it in the first place.

"Now _she_ is attractive." Damon said, checking out a blonde as she walked past them. "Cheerleader most definitely."

Cecily rolled her eyes. "Really? I mean yeah, she's hot, but I dunno…let's go look in on the files—there has to be at least _something_ about Stefan in there."

"God, fine—ruin all of my fun." Damon told her with a playful pout.

"Oh, whatever," Cecily replied laughing, "I always let you have your little hordes of girls for your little feeding dance parties. For once let's do what _I_ want to do."

Damon laughed at her and nodded, both of them heading to the office and seeing a rather cheerful woman sitting there. Cecily smiled and compelled her with her eyes, getting into the filing cabinet and smiling a bit as Damon got on her computer. They were expecting to see 'Stefan Salvatore' on the list, but when Cecily's eyes rested on 'Elizabeth Peterson' it was like _everything_ had just changed.

"So…they're _both_ here, huh?" Cecily mused, nodding slowly. "That's it. I'm going outside their homeroom and making faces through the window."

Damon looked at her, raising his eyebrows. "Are you a child?"

"Today I am." Cecily replied with a smile, heading to the door of the office and then looking back at Damon. "I promise you that if I don't get Stefan's attention, I'll get Lizzie's—do you have a message for me to give to her?"

Damon gave her a look. "Just get out of here and meet me back at the mansion—I want to be a glorious little secret, and I'll keep that football player on speed dial for you, Cee."

"You're a little girl." Cecily teased before she skipped off to the outside of the building, finding the chemistry class that Stefan and Elizabeth would soon be in.

xx

Elizabeth walked towards the seat in the back of the room closest to the window; Stefan took the seat to her right. Elizabeth sighed and looked around, sizing up her fellow students, searching for one that could be her…'special' friend.

Cecily stood outside the class room, and she spotted Stefan first but he wasn't looking her way; he was doing the thing he _always _did—staring off into space, his eyebrows furrowed and completely oblivious to his surroundings, or in this case Cecily. Elizabeth on the other hand was looking around, with that look on her face Cecily recognized as her judging look. Cecily smiled and did just what she told Damon she was going to do: she stood outside the door making faces waiting for Elizabeth to notice her. Elizabeth chewed on her lip and smiled a little, as the boy she'd been staring at turned to look at her.

"Hi," She mouthed and the boy smirked then turned back around.

Elizabeth smiled to herself, and turned towards the door as she settled herself in. Elizabeth hadn't seen Cecily in years, so when she noticed her standing outside the door making odd faces at her she couldn't control herself, she squealed, jumped from her desk and ran for the door. There was nothing in the world that would stop her from going out to go and see Cecily.

When Cecily first met Elizabeth—when Damon brought her home that is—she was quiet and she was very polite. Once Cecily and her bonded, however, she got to know the real her and she was basically one of the most talkative people she had ever met, and very, very cheerful. It was one of the things that kept the two of them so close over the years because Cecily also liked to talk—she had a _lot_ of history to share and though she mothered everyone she was with, she really hated being alone so she made it a point to be friendly and protective.

"Miss, what on earth?" The teacher demanded reaching for Elizabeth but she danced away from his arm and threw open the door.

"Cee!" She screamed running into Cecily's arms, and Cecily laughed as the two girls hugged each other. "I can't believe you're here! I mean what are you doing here? Are you here to win back Stefan? Wait, how'd you know I was here? Oh my God you changed your hair I love it!"

Elizabeth words ran together as she let her excitement out but Cecily understood everything she said, used to it. She smiled at her old friend and cupped her face, looking at her and grinning from ear to ear. It had been a while and she remembered that Damon was really the only one to see her new, brunette hair…in fact Cecily had been thinking about changing it back to blonde, but she kind of liked her 'starting over' hair.

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked it." Cecily said and Elizabeth squealed again pulling Cecily to her for another hug.

Cecily was more than willing to oblige all of the hugging, and held Elizabeth close until they were interrupted. Someone cleared their throat and the two girls turned to see the Chemistry teacher glaring at them. Elizabeth nodded and Cecily smiled a little, trying to make the situation seem less terrible than it really was.

"You should really go back to class." Cecily smiled and Elizabeth smiled nodding.

"You _need _to come to my house after school." Elizabeth begged and Cecily laughed.

"Of course." She said and Elizabeth jumped up and down in excitement. "Do I just find the biggest and most expensive one and assume it's yours?"

"You know it." Elizabeth said and the two girls laughed.

"Miss. Peterson, class now." The teacher warned her.

Elizabeth sighed and hugged Cecily one last time before heading back into the class. The teacher followed close behind her to make sure she wouldn't run off again, and Elizabeth stood in the front of the class once she re-entered the classroom, the teacher walking back in after her.

"Care to explain who that was Miss. Peterson?" He asked and Stefan looked up as Elizabeth smiled.

Elizabeth glanced over at the teacher and gave him her winning smile that all the guys feel for. He looked at her for a moment then sighed because he knew she wasn't going to talk and he needed to conduct his class. She obviously knew she was going to be able to get away with things and for now the offense was innocent.

"Take your seat," He said adjusting his tie.

Elizabeth nodded and then walked to her seat, looking at Stefan. "Your girlfriend's home."

She whispered it as she sat down and Stefan nodded and turned back around gulping a little. He knew _exactly _who Elizabeth was talking about when she said 'girlfriend', and he had a feeling that Cecily would be close—especially after he'd met _Elena_ this morning and he knew Cecily of all people would see the resemblance to Katherine. Elizabeth smiled at him and turned back to see the boy looking at her again, smiling again.

xx

"You had better already be stocked up on scotch here!" Cecily yelled at the top of her lungs as she entered the Salvatore Mansion.

Damon came out to the top of the staircase and raised his eyebrows. "Someone sounds testy—of course I have scotch."

"Then pour some because you're _not_ going to like what it is that I say to you." She told him throwing her purse on a nearby chair and shrugging off her light jacket. "Well…what are you waiting for? I remember how to get to the study, Damon."

"You are so commanding." Damon said rolling his eyes and then he smirked. "I like that in a woman."

Cecily laughed and hurried for him, arriving at his side in a split second. "Shall we?"

Damon nodded and took her by the hand, dragging her along to the study and then dropping her hand. He got out the glasses and poured some scotch, handing Cecily the one that had less in it, and laughing when she gave him a look. Then he took a big gulp and smiled as Cecily down her scotch quickly and went to pour herself another glass.

"So what's got you downing scotch like it's a drinking game?" Damon asked with a laugh.

Cecily sighed loudly. "It's a girl I saw at the school today, who is _human_, and she looked _exactly_ like Katherine."

_Cecily ran her fingers through her soft, blonde curls, fixing her corset and then going for the top of her dress. Katherine came in and smiled at her as she looked out the window at Stefan and Damon conversing, shaking her head at her. Cecily had known Katherine had entered and looked to her, fixing her gown in front of the mirror and checking her hair and make-up._

"_You know…Stefan's really more into brunettes." Katherine teased, leaning on the post by their bed. "You're wasting your time."_

_Cecily made a face. "I'm not here to be his love interest, Kat—I'm here because you're here and it's my job to protect you."_

"_He never told you that you had to follow me to the ends of the Earth." Katherine replied pursing her lips as she thought of the man that had turned them both. "You're not my keeper."_

"_Soon that will be even truer than you know." Cecily muttered to herself, knowing that Katherine could hear her, but also knowing she wouldn't figure out what Cecily was up to until it was too late._

Damon just kind of stared at Cecily as she stood there and downed another glass of scotch, that look on her face. There were a lot of things that Damon was, but stupid was definitely _not _one of them. He was pretty sure that the look he saw on Cecily's face was more than just hatred…it was fear. _Why_ was Cecily _afraid_ of Katherine?

"You look like you're freaking out." Damon told her.

Cecily took a deep breath. "Yeah, well there's more to the story then you're aware of."

"Why don't you tell me, Cee? I mean we've only been together for the last two years and I feel like you're keeping a _big_ secret from me." Damon said, suddenly very serious.

"You won't understand." Cecily said, running her fingers through her hair.

Damon made a face. "Just tell me, Cee."

"I left Katherine to die." Cecily admitted suddenly, shaking her head slowly as the look on Damon's face changed. "She and I…we…she…I had to think about the group as a whole, all right?"

Cecily expected Damon to lash out at her, knowing how he felt about Katherine, but he just stood there. He was trying to take it all in and he knew that Cecily felt a _little_ bit of guilt even though unbeknownst to him she only felt a tiny smidgen of guilt. She didn't feel that bad that Katherine was gone and she wanted her out of the world if there was even a _tiny_ chance that she survived…it was just that at the same time, Katherine had been her friend once even if Katherine had thought it was benefitting _her_.

"I understand that you feel like you need to save everyone, but she was your friend." Damon told her. "I thought that meant something to you at least."

Cecily gave him a look. "Don't judge me. Now you know—I saved the group over her. Are you going to kick me out now?"

"Of course not." Damon replied with a shrug. "You know too much about me and in a fair fight you'd kick my ass since you're all old and stuff—besides, you're obviously here to help me resurrect her and feel less guilty about it all."

"Well aren't _you_ charming?" Cecily laughed, rolling her eyes. "God…the resemblance to Katherine really _is_ uncanny. I hate that Stefan was all smiling at her too from his stupid seat in the stupid classroom. Why is he going to school again, and where are you going?"

"Unlike my boring brother, I have things to do. Feel free to make yourself at home, and try not to drink all of my scotch." Damon said, and he chuckled and headed out of the room as Cecily laughed and flipped him off.

xx

Elizabeth sighed pulling back from the boy in front of her. She sat up retracting her fangs and glanced at him, trying to assess how he was feeling.

"You okay?" She asked licking the rest of his blood off her lips.

The boy looked up at her dazed. "What…what did you do to me?"

It was clear by the look on his face that he was rather scared of the small girl. She grinned and shrugged, looking at him to let him know that she had heard him. Still, it was rather obvious that _she_ was the one with the power here, and he knew that.

"Nothing you'll ever remember." She said looking him directly in the eyes.

He nodded and Elizabeth sighed and stood up. She walked out from underneath the bleachers and adjusted her shirt. Stefan saw her from across the field and he sighed shaking his head as she noticed him and started for him.

"Really Liz? In public?" Stefan said and she smiled shrugging as she sat down in front of him.

"What? I've _done_ worse in public." She said winking at him, Stefan rolling his eyes turning back to his work. "Gosh you're being so boring, let's go do something."

She started pouting as Stefan looked up at her, smiling a little bit. Even though she was different than the girl he had met a long time ago, she was the same as she ever was when he had gotten to know her. This was just the way that the two of them interacted, and Stefan was glad to have his pseudo sister around again—he'd missed her more than he'd be able to explain to her.

"If I'm so _boring _then why are you in the town that you _knew _Damon and I grew up in?" Stefan asked smiling, Elizabeth shrugging and grabbing the bottled water that he had.

"I don't know I just wanted to see what it was like—total co-inky-dink of meeting you here." She lied taking a sip of his water and Stefan laughed snatching his water back and Elizabeth looked at him pretending to be hurt.

"You knew I was here, and you missed me, admit it." He said pointing his pencil at her, Elizabeth laughing and shaking her head.

"I already said I missed you." She said and Stefan smiled.

"Yeah but you missed me so much you had to stalk me." He said and Elizabeth gasped.

"Stalk you? I would never!" She said and Stefan rolled his eyes. "Okay fine I figured out you were here, and I wanted to see you again."

"Now was that so hard?" Stefan asked and Elizabeth chuckled.

The final bell sounded and Elizabeth grabbed the water bottle from Stefan. He smiled putting his books in his bag as he walked over to her. It was officially the end of the school day, and probably about the time that they were going to split up again.

"So what are _you _doing now school is done for the day?" Elizabeth asked uncapping Stefan's water and gulping some down.

"I am going to the cemetery to pay a visit to my father." He said and Elizabeth nodded handing him the water back.

"Very Stefan of you—spending your afternoon in the cemetery." She teased as he held the door open for her.

"Well what do you have planned?" He asked wrapping his arm around her small shoulders and she smiled up at him.

"I am having a friend over." She said pulling out of his hold, skipping to her locker. "You might know her—she's hot, and she's tall, and she's got a great pair of—"

Stefan gave her a look shutting her up and it was obvious to both of them that he knew she was talking about Cecily. There were things he wanted to ask her, but at the same time he didn't know what it was that he wanted to talk to her about. He didn't want Elizabeth to feel like she was in the middle, but at the same time he couldn't keep quiet.

"How is she?" Stefan asked leaning against the lockers.

"I don't know but that's what I'll find out." She said closing her locker. "Well I'm off; enjoy brooding in the cemetery my brother."

She patted his shoulder and then skipped away, Stefan smiling after her and then nodding as he headed off on his way. Elizabeth pulled her car keys from her pocket and headed for her black Porsche. She chuckled noticing the boys gawking over her car and honestly she felt good about it.

"Excuse me," She said and the boys turned towards her.

"This is your car?" One asked—the one she had insulted earlier—and she smiled nodding as she unlocked the car.

"I'm Tyler Lockwood," He said smiling at her as she climbed in the car.

She closed the door, but rolled down the window to let him know that she was still listening to him. Tyler bent down resting his arms on the window of the car, smiling at her a little bit.

"I'm Elizabeth—Lizzie." She smiled and he smirked.

"There's a party tomorrow night at the Falls—a back to school thing." He said and Elizabeth smiled turning away from him.

"Nice meeting you, Tyler." She said pulling out and he smiled.

"Will I see you there?" He called but she left without answering.

Elizabeth drove up a hill that lead to her new house, glad to be getting back. She parked inside of the garage and climbed out. She threw her bag over her shoulder and walked to the door leading into her house. Then she unlocked her door and walked in setting her bag on the kitchen table and she sighed—she felt a little lonely in the empty house.

She reached into her fridge and pulled out a candy bar, feeling a little peckish. Elizabeth kicked off her shoes and headed into the living room. She held the candy bar in her mouth as she opened the giant window, and a bird flew in making her let out a yelp, the candy bar falling from her mouth. She groaned and turned to the bird, rather annoyed that she had just lost her candy bar.

"You made me drop my candy!" She yelled bending down to pick it up.

Something rushed past her and she turned, but no one was there. She turned back and the crow cawed at her, making her realize that it really wanted her to pay attention to it, but she was a little creeped out by it all.

"Shoo, get out of here." She yelled swatting her hands at it.

The bird flew away, but landed on the large chandler in the room. She looked up at it and sighed because it was obvious now that it was sticking around rather she liked it or not.

"Great, I always wanted a pet." She mumbled.

She heard chuckling and she looked around for the owner, knowing that she was now no longer alone. There was a creepy crow, she had lost her candy bar, and now there was someone else with her in the house. What else could happen today?

"Cee, is that you?" Elizabeth called walking towards the stairs.

Someone grabbed her by the throat, scaring her but the person was a vampire because of his speed. She ended up on her couch the vampire on top of her pinning her arms above her head.

"Not quite," He said and pressed his lips against hers.

Elizabeth recognized him instantly from his voice and his kiss. Elizabeth pushed Damon off her, and stood up at a speed only vampires could do. Damon smiled wiping her lipstick from his lips and smirking at her.

"What's up with you and cherries? I mean everything is cherries—your shampoo, perfume…even your taste." He smirked and Elizabeth glared, the crow cawing and then it flew out the window, Elizabeth's eyes following it.

"A crow? Really, Damon?" Elizabeth snorted and Damon smiled walking towards her.

"What, I thought you were into the whole Hitchcock thing?" Damon asked brushing her cheek with the back of his hand.

Elizabeth took a breath trying not to let her emotions slip. She hadn't seen Damon in centuries, and him being here now, inches from her face were bringing back so many feelings—feelings she didn't want to show. She had left him for a reason and she definitely hadn't forgotten _why_ she had left to go her own way.

"Damon get out of my house—better yet get out of this town." She snapped hitting his hand away, making Damon snort and turn, flopping down on her couch.

"This is _my _town Lizzie, and I can stay here as long as I please." He said and then patted the seat beside him. "Come on let's have some fun for old times sake."

He winked at her and sent her that charming smile he used on everyone, but Elizabeth wasn't impressed by it. She crossed her arms over her chest because she meant business and Damon couldn't just get _everything_ that he wanted. This was _her_ house, and for once in his life, Damon was going to have to listen to what it was that _Elizabeth_ wanted.

"Out, now." She growled and Damon stood up, walked towards her, and got very close to her again.

"It's good seeing you." He said his warm breath on her skin.

She closed her eyes and when she reopened them he was gone—but not before he had seen his affect on her. Elizabeth sighed and walked over to the couch. She laid down and closed her eyes wishing Cecily would get there soon.

xx

"You're a terrible person, Cess, just stop this." Cecily told herself as she wandered into Stefan's room.

It was obvious that he had already been in here, his stuff a little unpacked and the room looked…_used_. He had a journal out, which made Cecily smile a bit, and then she noticed on part of his desk was a couple of pictures—the one on top was Katherine. Katherine. God, Cecily _despised_ that creature. It almost didn't help that the picture under it was her and Stefan, snuggled together.

Cecily had taken it, Stefan laughing in the picture even though part of him had been annoyed about it. He didn't want to have to take such mementos, but Cecily was fond of having the memories around. In fact she even had the same picture in her bag that she carried with her everywhere…hers was just a little more worn because she carried it with her _everywhere_.

"Well if you didn't want to see it, you shouldn't have been snooping." Cecily said aloud, sighing to herself. "If you were Stefan, where would _you_ be right now? You have to see him before you see Lizzie."

Cecily ran her fingers through her hair again and hurried out of Stefan's room, closing the door behind her and then hurrying out of the mansion. She was starting to get mad at herself for changing her hair color after everything was done with Stefan. He still hadn't seen her brunette, and just the fact that she'd chosen that and not maybe red, was really making her rather upset. Katherine had told her that Stefan preferred brunettes and Cecily had deep down believed her…and there it was—it always came back to Katherine.

"I seriously hate that bitch." Cecily growled as she headed for the cemetery.

There were so many people buried there—people that Stefan knew and had cared about once upon a time—and she figured he would be there. In fact she was right, but what she hadn't counted on was the girl that looked like Katherine being there too. The two were smiling at each other and talking about how she'd fled from a crow and Cecily nodded—the crow was practically Damon's trademark. He obviously had wanted to see what the girl really looked like—Elena…she'd just said her name was Elena.

"Oh they have History, English and French together. Big whoop-dee-do-dah." Cecily said, and she had a feeling that even though not as honed as hers, Stefan's vampiric hearing could pick that up.

Stefan picked a leaf out of Elena's hair and they just smiled at each other, Cecily feeling like she was hurting…but why? Why should this bother her when she and Stefan both agreed that things couldn't work out between them? So what if he was reverting back to Katherine? Yeah, Elena wasn't Katherine but the resemblance was just…she might as well have been as far as Cecily was concerned.

"Oh and now you're complimenting his ring…Cess—stop it, you're being childish. Just go find Damon in the fog. Oh! Opportunity!" Cecily said aloud.

Stefan pointed out to Elena that she may have hurt herself, Elena rolling up her pant leg and Stefan turning away, his eyes reacting to his bloodlust. Cecily was so old she could control it, walking in between the two, Stefan's back to her, and Elena more focused on the wound on her leg.

"Excuse me. Sorry." Cecily said aloud, hurrying past them into the cemetery, knowing that Stefan had recognized her voice. "Damon…psst! Did you leave already?"

Cecily looked around, knowing that Elena was heading away, turning around once to see Stefan right in front of her. He looked…good. Stefan seemed to be well and strong and even kind of happy and Cecily just stood there, nodding a little finally. She was at a loss for words, but Stefan definitely wasn't.

"You changed your hair." Stefan said as he pointed at it, resisting the urge to stroke it.

Cecily nodded slowly. "And you're the first person to say it like they hate it."

"No, I don't hate it, I just…I miss the blonde." He said with a shrug.

"Seems you can't resist the Katherine-look-alike—you wanted to feed." Cecily told him, looking away because he still knew her far too well.

"You sound jealous." Stefan remarked and nodded when she scoffed.

Of _course_ she was jealous, but she wasn't going to tell _him_ that! He was Stefan, and she was Cecily, and if she reverted back to the girl that dwelt on the fact that she couldn't have him, she'd be backtracking. Yeah she was still in love with him, but she couldn't do this to him—they'd chosen two _completely_ different lives to lead, and she had to accept it whether she wanted to or not…it was what was best for Stefan.

"I was just coming by to pay my respects before going to see Lizzie." Cecily told him, changing the subject and finding a random grave marker. "Rest in peace, Sherman Lodge."

Stefan chuckled softly. "Do you even know, Sherman?"

"Oh yeah—he and I went _way_ back." Cecily said with a smile. "All the way up until…1978."

"You read that…off the tombstone." Stefan said, smiling a little. "Why'd you come back?"

Cecily swallowed and turned to look at him. "We don't have to do this. You came back, I came back, Lizzie came back, but we don't have to catch up. I'm not staying in town forever, and I'm not trying to win you back. We split up because we both want two different things and I'm not changing my feeding habits just to please you. I spent a lot of time catering to Katherine and they were the worst years of my life…or death, I guess. The point is? The small talk is nice, and I'm glad to see you, but I have no answers for you. I even already hate Elena because her face reminds me of the bitch I let die in my heart a _long_ time ago."

"Still the same, Cee." Stefan told her, stroking her hair this time, running his thumb along her cheek. "Try to remember that regardless of what you do, there are still people who care about you—like Lizzie—be good to her."

Cecily just nodded and pulled back from him, hurrying off because she couldn't stay and talk to him anymore. She'd meant a lot of what she'd said but not _all_ of it, and she didn't stop until she got to Elizabeth's, knocking on the door. Elizabeth answered and the two flung their arms around each other, Elizabeth immediately rattling off about how Damon had stopped by and then taken off.

"Damon misses you, he just won't admit it." Cecily told her, smiling when she rolled her eyes. "Speaking of not admitting things…I hate Elena. I wanted to put that out there."

Elizabeth laughed a little. "Because you're jealous of the attention Stefan is paying to her? Because you want him back and she obviously likes him?"

"Because she looks exactly like Katherine and so obviously Stefan and Damon are going to be attracted to and awed by her." Cecily said, cutting her off, but having to admit internally that all of those were valid arguments too.

Elizabeth sighed smiling a little at Cecily. Elizabeth had never seen a picture of Katherine, and now knowing that _Elena_ looked like her, made Elizabeth not like her. They both knew it was childish, but at the same time they'd been 'alive' so long that judging people was almost second nature.

"Elena. I swear _all_ I hear about at the school is _Elena_." Elizabeth said and Cecily sighed and Elizabeth frowned. "Don't you dare do that Cee."

Elizabeth pointed her finger at Cecily and Cecily looked at her funny. She knew what was coming and yet at the same time she had almost thought that maybe Elizabeth wouldn't know her so well still. She thought that she had changed a lot, but obviously not and she needed to pretend like she had no clue what Elizabeth was talking about.

"Do what?" She asked and Elizabeth gave her a look.

"The thing you do when you're about to go into your own 'Stefan-Angst-World'. I know you love him and I know that this Elena bitch is ruining all those day dreams for you, but you can not go all emo sparkly vamp on me." Elizabeth said wagging her finger in Cecily's face.

The two girls looked at each other and then burst out laughing, enjoying their little jokes with each other. Cecily sighed and pulled her legs underneath her looking over at Elizabeth. She needed to get out of the house and she wanted Elizabeth to go with her so she wouldn't have to be alone, and so that she wouldn't have to hang out with Damon when she had a gal pal back in her court.

"Alright, Lizzie, what about you? You have any Damon ranting you want to do?" Cecily asked to make sure all the bases were covered before she suggested leaving, and Elizabeth looked at her, her smiled replaced with a frown.

"No…not really." She said and Cecily gave her a look this time. "Damon is just so…so."

"Damon?" Cecily finished for her and Elizabeth nodded.

"He made me drop my candy bar." She pouted and Cecily laughed standing up.

"We'll get you another candy bar, I promise. Do you want to go somewhere with me? Like a bar maybe?" Cecily suggested and Elizabeth jumped up.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" She chanted jumping on the couch like a little kid causing Cecily to laugh.

"Okay, okay, Tigger—go change and then we'll go." Cecily told her, Elizabeth jumping up from the couch and heading up the stairs before Cecily knew it.

She snorted with laughter shaking her head and turned looking around the house to take it all in finally. Elizabeth really had taste in houses and the house was like she had guessed: huge. The walls in the living room where pure white, and there was a white couch and a big flat screen TV. It was very…well…Elizabeth. Cecily heard a caw and she turned looking at the window to see a crow. She sighed and walked over to the crow looking down at it and putting her hand on her hips.

"Damon, go away." She laughed rolling her eyes as she swatted the bird away.

She closed the windows and noticed Damon outside pointing up, her guess at the window to Elizabeth's room. He winked and then turned around vanishing into the trees. Cecily chuckled shaking her head and laughing a little bit.

"Pervert," She mumbled as Lizzie ran down the stairs, wearing a black mini skirt and blue laced tank top.

"I love the 21st century fashion." Elizabeth said twirling and Cecily laughed.

"You look great," She said smiling as Elizabeth dangled keys in front of her.

"You wanna drive it?" She teased and Cecily snatched the keys.

"Let's see how fast I can go without hitting someone!" She called running out the door, Elizabeth laughing and following her out locking her door behind her.

xx

When they made it to the Mystic Grill, they walked in and started to stake out a table, Elizabeth swallowing a little and looking at Cecily. She knew Cecily would see it sooner or later and when she did, she made a face, but she caught Elizabeth staring at her so she just threw on a smile and looked at Elizabeth.

"So let's grab this table over here." Cecily said, hurrying past Elizabeth who looked over at the table with Elena, Bonnie, Caroline and Stefan at it and then followed her friend.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "They're just talking about the thing at the Falls tomorrow night—it's nothing big."

"Of course it's not big—I want a beer. Do you want a beer?" Cecily asked her.

"I shouldn't have one here—I'm masquerading as a High School student, remember?" Elizabeth told her with a smile. "However, _you_ can have all of the beers that you want."

"I'm going to have so many you're going to have to walk _for_ me." Cecily told her with a nod and then she sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm a downer it's just…it's like it's happening all over again, you know? He wanted Katherine over me, he wants Elena over me—they look the same so it hits home."

Elizabeth nodded and sat at the table as Cecily got up to go and get some beers for herself, smiling up as Caroline came over to her, Stefan and Elena smiling at each other a little. Caroline Forbes had been pretty interested in figuring out who Elizabeth was and how she knew Stefan, and now she was with what appeared to be an older woman?

"Hey, Liz." Caroline told her, smiling at her and holding out her hand.

Elizabeth smiled and shook it. "Hey, Caroline."

"Looks like you have a new friend, Lizzie." Cecily said happily, standing next to her and then sitting down with her beers. "I'm Cecily Harrison—just an old family friend of Lizzie's."

"It's so nice to meet you!" Caroline gushed, sitting at their table. "Wow…you uh…that's a lot of beer."

Cecily laughed it off. "I'm thirsty. So you guys go to school together?"

"We have four periods together." Caroline told her excitedly.

"Would these also happen to be with Elena?" Cecily asked bitterly.

Elizabeth laughed a little into her drink that Cecily had brought back for her, shaking her head because she _knew_ Stefan could hear the conversation. It had to be obvious by now to him that even though she didn't come back _for_ him, she was definitely sticking around a bit for him. She still loved him and if he didn't still love her then Elizabeth would be _very_ surprised.

"You sound like you don't like her." Caroline said as she cocked her head to one side.

Cecily looked at her and smiled. "If she's your friend I can at least pretend I do. Hey, don't get me wrong, I don't know her. Are you a cheerleader by any chance?"

"Drink your beer, and Caroline and I will be back." Elizabeth said quickly.

She took Caroline by the hand and motioned to the pool tables, knowing how Damon and Cecily felt about cheerleader blood. On the one hand Cecily was in a mood and she needed to be watched to keep her reined in, but on the other hand Stefan was glancing over at her and starting to explain to Elena that she was a family friend and he knew her so he would end up talking to her, Elizabeth was sure of it.

Elizabeth smiled as she noticed Tyler at the pool tables and let go of Caroline's hand. Caroline noticed the look she was giving Tyler and she smirked. The two either already knew each other, Elizabeth was already smitten, or both.

"He's the mayor's son." Caroline whispered into Elizabeth's ear which made her smile even wider—he was basically royal blood and Tyler looked up so Elizabeth waved at him.

"He's coming this way." Caroline said and Elizabeth kept her smile on.

"I know," She said mimicking Caroline's tone.

"Lizzie," Tyler said leaning on his cue stick, Elizabeth smiling and nodding.

"Tyler," Elizabeth said smirking.

"Hey Ty," Elizabeth heard a girl say and she looked over.

A girl, taller than her—big surprise there—walked over smiling at Tyler. It was kind of obvious to Elizabeth that given the nickname and the show of affection, this girl had a claim on him. Still, having a claim on someone didn't stop Elizabeth from at least making eyes at the guy who so clearly wanted to keep making eyes at her.

"Vikki," He said looking at her then at Elizabeth and Elizabeth smiled at Vikki. "This is Elizabeth."

Vikki looked at her, giving her a once over—she hadn't really seen Elizabeth up close yet. She knew there was a new girl and a new boy at school but she hadn't face to face met either of them yet. The brunette before her was really pretty, and it wouldn't hurt to at least say 'hello' to her.

"Vikki huh? I think I want to talk to you, when you're not with you're boyfriend." Elizabeth said already liking Vikki.

"Yeah sure." Vikki said looking at her funny not quite sure what she meant but nodding and then she turned to Tyler and smiled. "You want to get out of here?"

She grabbed onto his hand and they made eye contact. Then Tyler let the words sink in and he looked from Vikki to Elizabeth and then back to Vikki, trying to figure out what it was that he should do. What he should do and what he wanted, seemed to be two completely different things.

"You should go—I need to find someone anyway." Elizabeth said smiling and then she turned to Caroline.

"Care, I'll be right back." She said and Caroline nodded smiling a little.

Elizabeth nodded and looked around searching for the boy that was fighting with Vikki earlier when she and Cecily had walked in. She listened trying to find him, but he wasn't in the bar anymore. She stepped outside, and smelt smoke…she smiled a little and walked in the alley.

"Jeremy." She called her heels echoing as she walked towards him.

Jeremy looked up surprised that such a pretty girl was talking to him. She knew his name and he wondered why—he also wondered what it was that she wanted. He was just out here having a smoke and she was interrupting…but she had such a smile.

"Yeah?" He asked not being able to hold back a smile as she smiled at him.

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizzie." She said and he nodded confused at why she was still talking to him—what did she want?

"Not to be rude or anything but do you need something?" He asked and Elizabeth smiled shrugging, leaning against the wall beside him.

"You seemed lonely, and I'm friendly." She said and he laughed a little, handing her his joint and she took it. "How old are you?"

"I'm um, fifteen." He said as she took a hit.

She inhaled the smoke and the leaned her head back letting it out. She smiled and handed it back to Jeremy. This was one of those random little things that Cecily and Elizabeth _both _took pleasure in—hanging on to a little bit of humanity doing any kind of various activities.

"Three years isn't that bad," She smirked and Jeremy blushed a little.

"So you're new?" He asked taking another hit and she nodded.

"New as can be," She said already feeling the effects of the pot.

She gripped Jeremy by his shirt and looked up at him, the fifteen year old boy taller than her. He held the joint out and Elizabeth took a hit while he held it, Jeremy watching her every move. She reached up and kissed him, the smoke flowing into his mouth and she pulled back laughing a little.

"Let's go inside, it's cold out here." She said taking him by the hand.

He put out the joint and the two walked back into Mystic Grill, getting looks from his older sister. Elizabeth laughed and walked over to the pool table where Caroline was still, understanding that Elena had little left to keep her attention. Stefan had gotten up from the table and left her with Bonnie to go and see how Cecily was holding up by herself.

"Caroline, let's play pool so I can show Jerbear up." She said sending Jeremy a look and Caroline laughed and nodded.

Cecily looked up, knowing that Stefan was standing at the table now and she knew Elizabeth could see her and she had to be nice to Stefan. Elizabeth loved Stefan like a brother and if Cecily ripped him a new one when she'd already had two beers, she was going to hear it from Elizabeth. She wouldn't take either side, she'd just take both and Cecily understood it, but didn't want it right then.

"You're bitter." Stefan told her, sitting down at the table with her.

Cecily sipped her third beer. "I'm not bitter—I'm having an _amazing_ time."

"You look like it…sitting here all on your own asking people if they're cheerleaders." Stefan said, wanting to laugh but not being able to.

"I was making small talk. Caroline and I could be the best of friends." Cecily told him shrugging.

"Please don't use her—humans have feelings." Stefan said softly.

Cecily looked him in the eye. "So do vampires."

"I hope I'm not interrupting, but uh…I'm Elena." Elena told Cecily, holding out her hand.

Cecily looked at it and she took a deep breath, putting on a fake smiling and trying to figure out what to do. She didn't _want_ to shake her hand, but she didn't want to be rude in front of Stefan either. All she could do was shake her hand and make an excuse to up and leave because the grill no longer made her feel like she was escaping her feelings.

"Cecily." Cecily replied, shaking her hand quickly and letting go. "I should go. Nice to meet you."

Cecily stood up and took her third beer with her, sending Elizabeth a 'sorry' look and then heading out. Stefan told Elena that he had to check on her and they smiled at each other, Elena understanding and letting him leave. He followed Cecily who knew he was going to do just that, and turned to get in the first word.

"Do you _enjoy_ this?" Cecily asked him hurriedly. "Do you _enjoy_ watching me feel like this? This is Katherine all over again and I can't do it!"

Stefan nodded slowly. "Talk to me."

"I don't want to!" Cecily replied and just like that she was away from Stefan and storming into the Salvatore Mansion. "Damon?"

Damon heard the sadness in her voice and nodded getting the scotch out as she came into the study with tears streaming down her face. She just couldn't understand why she was so upset when she thought she was over everything—she thought she could _handle_ this. What was going on? Why didn't Stefan get it?

"You need a new horse to ride." Damon told her as she downed her beer and grabbed the scotch from him.

Cecily nodded as she looked at the drink. "I need a new horse to ride."

xx

Elizabeth smiled at Stefan as she walked towards him, her hair braided to the side her bangs out. It was another day at school and she was feeling pretty confident, wishing that Cecily was there but understanding. Cecily had been in the world a _lot_ longer than Elizabeth had and Cecily was _not_ going through the 'torture of High School' all over again and Elizabeth was content having extra time with Stefan.

"Hello my friend," She said smiling at him as he closed his locker.

Stefan looked at her smiling at how cheerful she was. Elizabeth had always been a ball of sunshine, always brightening up the mood of the person she was around. Whenever she was incredibly happy, Stefan always felt happy just standing in her presence and he'd missed this—he'd missed her being the ray of sunshine through his foggy days.

"You sure are happy." He said as the two headed for their French class.

"I'm always happy." She said and Stefan snorted.

"Uh huh, so who's it this time? I saw you eyeing Tyler Lockwood—I wouldn't feed from him if I were you." Stefan said serious now.

"You wouldn't feed on him in general Stefan." She said and Stefan rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious Elizabeth, he's the mayor's soon, meaning he's probably chalk full of vervain." He said and Elizabeth groaned.

"And he looked so good," She pouted the two of them standing outside the classroom.

The door was closed and Elizabeth went to knock but the door opened. Elizabeth snorted when Cecily walked out her bra showing, her hair disheveled and her lipstick smeared a bit. Elizabeth held back her giggles as Cecily glanced at her and Stefan and nodded quickly then walking away. Stefan's eyes followed her as she headed out of the school and the French teacher stepped out and Elizabeth burst out laughing. The teacher blushed and cleared his throat.

"Go take a seat," He said refusing to look at either of his students.

Stefan shot Elizabeth daggers as she continued to laugh glancing out the window to see Cecily walking off, fixing her clothes. She was apparently taking a new approach to being upset about Stefan focusing on Elena and Elizabeth thought it was entertaining that Stefan was so jealous. He had Elena and he had said that he and Cecily had both moved on…so why was it like they were _trying_ to make each other jealous? Why not just _talk_ to each other?

"Did you—oh my God. I always knew she liked French food but ha-ha-ha." She laid her head against the table burying her mouth in her hands trying to stifle her laughs.

Stefan wasn't as entertained as Elizabeth, but he just nodded and pulled out his book. The school day went by fast for Elizabeth, since she was excited about the party that night—it was the end of the school and she was going to the place Jeremy told her he hung out. She saw him, Vikki, and a few other people she had yet met.

"Jer, Vikki hey," She called walking over to them, Jeremy smiling at her and Vikki waved.

"What's up Liz?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth smiled.

"You two are going to the Falls tonight right?" She asked and they both nodded.

"Yeah, I'm going with Ty," Vikki said and Jeremy looked at her.

"Well I look forward to seeing you two there—hey Jeremy…bring more of that pot, that was great." Elizabeth said and Jeremy nodded smiling.

"Course, just don't tell my sister." He said and Elizabeth's smile faded.

"The last thing I'll do is talk to your sister." Elizabeth promised him.

xx

Cecily knew that the party at the Falls was more of a 'school' thing, but when Elizabeth pouted, there was only one option: do what she wanted. So Cecily got dressed in some tight jeans and a tank top, zipping up a casual sweatshirt part of the way and making sure she was wearing her necklace—without it she couldn't walk around in the daylight. When Elizabeth saw her, she shook her head and put her hand on her hips, looking pretty amazing in her skinny jeans and blouse.

"It's like you're not even trying." Elizabeth told her with a sigh.

Cecily shrugged softly. "I don't have to try because I have a man to play with when I want to. Look—I did my hair…can we go now?"

"What do you see in Mr. Strauss anyway?" Elizabeth asked Cecily as she grabbed her purse and watched Cecily grab hers.

"I dunno, he's something different." Cecily replied with a smile.

Elizabeth laughed and nodded, both of them heading out to the party, smiling into the cool, night air. Cecily let Elizabeth run off to join Jeremy, Vikki and Tyler, agreeing to meet up with her soon. She knew that Stefan was going to be here and that Elizabeth had a hidden agenda, but at the same time she didn't mind talking to Stefan if he really wanted to talk—besides, she needed to explain herself for the morning with Patrick Strauss.

"So Elizabeth brought you, eh?" Stefan asked her upon entering the forest.

Cecily smiled, both of them away from the crowds for now. "Of course she did—she wanted me to have _some_ kind of fun."

"Looked like you were having fun this morning." Stefan told her. "I mean where are you even sleeping?"

"Around." Cecily replied, knowing that Damon hadn't actually spoken to Stefan yet—no one knew he was back in town except for her and Elizabeth and Cecily was trying to stay away until Stefan was aware of everything. "Besides, I can't say anything bad about Patrick. He had me the first time we spoke."

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "What exactly did he say to you?"

"Bonjour." She said with a laugh.

"Seriously?"

"What? I liked it."

Stefan gave her a look and Cecily shrugged, smiling about it and then waving it off. She didn't have to explain herself to him, but it was good that he knew because she was pretty sure it was at least a _little_ awkward. After all, he was kind of Stefan's teacher and she was kind of his ex girlfriend so…awkward indeed.

"I'm sorry…this has to be weird for you." Cecily said softly, truly meaning it. "I promise not to hook up with him on school grounds anymore, okay?"

Stefan nodded slowly, running his fingers through his hair. "That would be nice. So…you don't have anywhere to stay?"

"There are plenty of places I _could_ stay…" She smiled at him as she stated it slowly. "How's your big, lonely mansion?"

"Lonely." Stefan replied nodding.

The two of them slipped into an awkward silence and then Cecily saw Caroline heading over to them and she made an excuse to leave. She ended up at a keg with Matt and Bonnie and she just grabbed a red plastic cup of beer and then headed deep into the forest, smiling when she saw Damon. They were alone there and though they were both _watching_ the party, they knew they weren't really part of it.

"Wanna go somewhere and have a feeding dance party?" Cecily asked him.

Damon chuckled and shrugged. "Why not?"

Elizabeth broke out into a fit of laughter as Jeremy walked towards her. He gave her a look smiling and stood beside her, handing her the beer he had gotten her.

"What's so funny?" He asked and Elizabeth giggled some more.

"You were walking, and I dunno." She burst out laughing again obviously high and Jeremy laughed, not as stoned at her but enjoying watching her having so much fun.

"Lush," He teased and Elizabeth snorted standing in front of him.

"I am not a lush," She said putting her hands on his chest and Jeremy smiled liking the closeness of her, so he leaned down to kiss her and she turned her head smirking.

"Let's go find Vikki, I need to talk to her." She said taking him by the hand.

Jeremy sighed a little but let Elizabeth lead him into the woods. There were other things that he would rather be doing, but he wasn't going to push Elizabeth into anything that she didn't want to do.

"She's probably somewhere screwing around with Tyler." He said bitterly and Lizzie chuckled wrapping her arm around his waist, as he wrapped his around her shoulders.

"Well we can't let that happen can we?" She said smiling up at him.

The truth was that Lizzie wanted Vikki to end up with Jeremy. Yeah, she wanted Jeremy for herself but she was becoming close to the both of them, and was seeing Jeremy more as a friend, and Vikki as a sister, They were both miserable even if Vikki wouldn't admit it…even if she wouldn't admit a lot of things.

"It's not gonna happen, not here not like this" Elizabeth heard Vikki say, but Jeremy couldn't since he didn't have vampiric hearing.

Elizabeth pulled from his hold and grabbed his hand making him walk faster. Elizabeth spotted Vikki pushed up against a tree, Tyler forcing himself on her. She was going to help out no matter the cost, and when Jeremy saw the sight, he had the same thoughts.

"No, I said 'no'. Ow, that hurts." Vikki said and Jeremy pulled from Elizabeth's hand.

"Hey leave her alone," Jeremy said as Vikki pushed Tyler off of her and Tyler glared at Jeremy coming towards him.

"You know you're starting to get on my nerves Gilbert." He said coming towards him that look in his eye that made Elizabeth take a step in front of him.

"Don't. Tyler get the Hell away from me," Vikki said pushing him away, and standing beside Jeremy, Tyler looking at her and smiled though he was obviously hurt.

"Wow, Vikki Donavan says 'no'—that's a first." He said and Elizabeth looked over at Vikki seeing the hurt look on her face.

Tyler walked passed them and Elizabeth held back her anger, knowing this wasn't the time or the place. She wanted to do so many things right that moment, but she had to hold back and pretend to be a normal kind of girl. That was hard for her…she _wasn't_ a normal kind of girl.

"I didn't need your help." Vikki said and Elizabeth turned to see her talking to Jeremy.

"It seems like you did." Jeremy said calmly.

"He was just drunk," Vikki said and Elizabeth frowned at her.

"When I'm drunk do you see me throwing myself at you?" Jeremy asked her, and Elizabeth could see just how much he cared for Vikki.

"No, you're worse. You wanna talk to me, get to know me—see into my soul." Vikki told him and Jeremy looked away frowning. "Then screw and screw and screw until you're done with me."

Jeremy looked back at her obviously hurt, and Elizabeth nodded slowly, looking at the ground. It wasn't her conversation to be part of, but at the same time she now knew more about their background than before. There were so many ways she could help Jeremy and Vikki out now that she knew.

"Is that what you think?" Jeremy asked stepping towards Vikki.

"That's what I know," Vikki said and then left leaving Jeremy to stand there alone with only her words, Elizabeth frowning and she reached out and grabbed Jeremy's hand.

"Come on Jer, let's go get you drunk." She said giving him a sad smile, and Jeremy nodded as she wrapped her arm around him leading him back towards the beer.

Cecily stood up as Damon held his hand out to her, both of them perking up their ears. There was a girl coming towards them, alone in this part of the forest, and Cecily shrugged as Damon smirked at her. He wanted to just feed now and Cecily was hungry so she didn't object.

"Are you going to be creepy?" Cecily asked him, holding the cup and raising her eyebrows. "All I want is some blood—no killing her."

Damon rolled his eyes. "You take the fun out of everything. I'm doing the fog!"

"Then do the damn fog and get on with it." Cecily told him laughing.

Damon nodded and they walked together, Cecily waiting back just a little as Damon stalked Vikki. Cecily recognized her as a waitress from the night before but she didn't know anything about her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to—that always made feeding so much harder.

"Jeremy? Is that you?" Vikki asked aloud, looking around but not finding anyone. "Jeremy?"

She could tell that someone was following her, but she really wasn't expecting to turn around and see Damon there. He knocked her out with one blow when she screamed, Cecily walking up to him as he held her unconscious body and then moved her hair off of her neck, grunting when Cecily told him to stop. Cecily gave him a look and he growled but handed Vikki over, watching as Cecily bit down and took the first taste.

Normally Damon wasn't as accommodating, but since Cecily had been there for him so much, especially recently, he felt like he had to show her his thanks _somehow_. Besides, he knew she wouldn't drink _too_ much from her, and he smiled when Cecily handed Vikki back over. He bit down in the same place and Cecily licked the remaining blood off of her teeth, smiling a little—it wasn't cheerleader blood, but she'd survive.

Elizabeth sat in between Jeremy's legs the two of them sharing a joint, laughing. The two of them had been having quite a time with it, and yet Jeremy seemed to be a little more down than Elizabeth. She thought the joints would help, but he was still feeling down, and she wasn't sure exactly _how_ to help him.

"Why are you my friend?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth looked up at him, smiling a little.

"Cause you're damaged, like me, and you are _very_ cute, and incredibly fun." Elizabeth explained meaning every word of it and Jeremy chuckled handing her the joint.

"_You're_ damaged? You're too perfect to be damaged." Jeremy told her.

Elizabeth choked on the smoke because she was laughing after he said it. Jeremy laughed too, taking it from her so she wouldn't drop it. She was just so happy and it was making Jeremy feel happier even though he didn't think he had a reason to be happy about it in the slightest.

"You have no idea Jerbear," She said and sighed noticing Stefan giving her a look, so she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her butt.

"I have to go see my friend," She said giving Jeremy her hand.

Once she was sure Jeremy was okay she walked over to Stefan. He looked at her, already knowing she was stoned and drunk. Stefan was glad that she was having fun—she was having more fun than he was having thinking about Cecily more than he should have been. He didn't know how to quit, but talking to Elizabeth would help he hoped.

"I see you've been enjoying yourself." He said and she nodded laughing a little.

"Elena's little brother Jeremy is like the best guy in the world—next to you that is." She said and Stefan chuckled a little, Caroline walking over towards Stefan and smiling at the both of them.

"Lizzie, Stefan." She said smiling then gave Elizabeth the look that said 'I want to talk to sexy guy alone' so Elizabeth nodded, saluting her and then turned leaving the two at it.

"I wonder where Cee is." She said out loud and headed for the forest determined to have a little fun with her old friend.

She wandered through the forest, smelling blood as she got further in and quickened her pace. When she came upon Cecily, she was sitting on a log leaning against Damon, both of them looking down at Vikki, lying unconscious on the ground. Cecily was up almost immediately when she saw the hurt look on Elizabeth's face and bit her lip, Elizabeth immediately glaring at Damon.

"Damon, what do you think you're doing?" Elizabeth demanded angrily.

Cecily stepped in. "To be fair here, I took the first bite. He was trying to make me feel better—she was like a gift."

"She's my friend!" Elizabeth told her, shaking her head and softening her gaze as she looked at Cecily. "Please don't do it again."

"Vampire honor." Cecily promised, holding her fingers up like a Girl Scout.

Damon laughed and stood up. "I don't have to promise any such thing."

Cecily made a face and closed her eyes, shaking her head and checking Vikki's slow pulse to be helpful, Elizabeth fuming now. It was just like Damon to pick a fight with her, and Cecily had a feeling she had to just let it play out because the two had unresolved history. It was like how Elizabeth only tugged the strings every so often, but she wanted Cecily and Stefan to talk amongst themselves.

"You couldn't have picked someone off, off of the highway or something?" Elizabeth asked him. "This isn't how you keep a _low_ profile and Cee of all people should know that!"

Cecily looked up at her, Vikki alive for now. "She has a point—the newspaper today had our little attack when we came into town…I should be more careful. When I have beer in me, you shouldn't encourage me, Damon."

"Okay, no—both of you are _not_ ganging up on me here!" Damon told them.

"Oh no? Whose idea was this?" Elizabeth asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Cecily smiled awkwardly. "I wanted to feed, but Damon picked Vikki! It was also his idea to attack the couple on the way into town!"

"You are such a child!" Damon said, looking directly at Cecily. "You know if you didn't start trying to get drunk _every_ time Stefan hit on some other girl, you wouldn't even have to defend yourself right now! Besides, you make your own decisions, I just enable you. This conversation is over because I'm not sorry about any of it."

"The whole point though, is that you _should_ be!" Elizabeth tried, but it was in vain because just like that, Damon was gone.

Cecily chewed on her lip and stood up, reaching out slowly to try and hug Elizabeth and apologize for being so stupid. When Cecily made promises, she always kept them—_especially_ if they were promises that she made to Elizabeth. Besides, she knew that she needed to calm down and do this more discreetly because Elizabeth had brought up a rather good point: Cecily had always been the mother hen…_she'd_ always been the one to tell people when it was going to far, and it was already going too far.

"So what do you want to do, Lizzie? You want to take the body back to the bonfire or hint to someone else to come and find her? One way you have to come up with a damn good story as to why she isn't mauled like it was an animal attack, and the other way you just have to look surprised." Cecily explained to her, glancing down at Vikki.

"I'll think of something, and you know I'm good at faking it." Elizabeth said looking up at Cecily to see if she'd catch her insult towards Damon, which she did and she laughed.

"Liz I think I should leave, I really am sorry." Cecily said glancing at Vikki.

Elizabeth sighed nodding, pulling Cecily into a hug. She didn't want her to go and leave her alone with the body, but she knew Cecily had other things to do. So she took a breath and headed back to the party in search of Jeremy. She looked over and saw Stefan talking with Elena, then she spotted Jeremy and nodded—he was the best person she could think of to get over to Vikki.

"There you are!" She said getting his attention and he looked at her and smiled.

"Where'd you go?" He asked as she helped him up.

"I've been looking for you—let's go for a walk please?" She asked giving her the smile that worked on everyone.

Jeremy nodded and the two held hands heading into the woods. Elizabeth made Jeremy think that he was leading them just by being with him, hoping to make him feel like he had _some_ man points with her, but in reality she was leading _him_. She wanted him to find Vikki and she sadly knew exactly where Vikki was.

"Jeremy!" Elizabeth heard Elena call out and she groaned—just what she needed. "Jeremy where the Hell are you going!"

Still holding Elizabeth's hand, Jeremy turned around walking still, and Elizabeth pretended she didn't see Vikki. If he had something to say to his sister than so be it, but they needed to find Vikki and quickly. She needed help even though Damon and Cecily hadn't drained her of _all_ of her blood.

"I don't want to hear it!" He said and then fell on top of Vikki pulling Elizabeth down as well.

"Vikki," He said getting up, Elizabeth pretending like she had just found Vikki and stood up quickly. "Oh my God it's Vikki."

"Oh my God," Elizabeth said as Jeremy leaned back down to check her pulse and Vikki shot up gasping for breath.

Elizabeth followed Jeremy and Elena out of the woods, Jeremy and Elena carrying Vikki. Elena yelled for help and Vikki's brother Matt, ran over as they set her down. Bonnie called 911 and Elizabeth searched the crowds for Stefan. She saw him horror struck and he gave her a look, her knowing it was his way of asking if she did it. So she shook her head and he nodded then disappeared into the crowds.

xx

The first place that Cecily had thought to go was to Damon—she had to make him understand that things had to be different this time around. No randomly feeding, no randomly killing…they had to be a _lot_ more careful. She could hear some angry noises coming from the mansion so she ran, just in time to get there as Stefan and Damon plummeted out of a window.

"Oh my God…" She breathed out, standing there as Damon got up easily and Stefan lay there a moment.

Cecily was used to this—she and Damon drank human blood daily, so they were both able to withstand a lot more than Stefan could. Then take into account Cecily's age and the fact that she had a little over a century over everyone else and Cecily could take on just about anything. Seeing Damon and Stefan fight, however, and seeing Stefan look like he was going to cry, was breaking her heart into pieces.

"I was impressed." Damon said aloud, leaning on a nearby bush as Stefan got up and looked at him, both knowing Cecily was there, but finishing their discussion. "I give it a 6…it missed on style but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good at the whole face, blarg-arg-ar, thing—that was good."

Cecily shook her head slowly. "Come on, Damon…what are you doing?"

"Cecily," Stefan warned, walking towards his brother, "please. It's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die."

"That's a given." Damon said with a shrug.

"Not again," Stefan replied shaking his head. "I won't allow it."

Damon chuckled a little. "You know your precious girlfriend here kills too, right? We're here and you can't stop us—you couldn't stop us when we blew into town and staged an animal attack."

Cecily ran her fingers through her hair and kept the tears at bay, realizing that Damon was just goading Stefan as Stefan looked at her sadly and nodded. Stefan and Damon hadn't seen each other face to face in a good fifteen years and Cecily had been traveling with him for two and Stefan had no idea. Now it was like everything was just spiraling out of control and Cecily realized that maybe she _needed_ to be the stick-in-the-mud again…because what if this plan of Damon's got them all found out and they were killed?

"After all of these years, can't we just give it a rest?" Stefan pleaded, pouring himself out there as Cecily bit her lip and Damon raised his eyebrow.

Damon smiled a little. "I promised you an _eternity_ of misery—I'm just keeping my word."

"Damon, this isn't funny anymore." Cecily told him as Stefan said, "Just stay away, from Elena."

The three of them stood there in silence a moment, Cecily letting his words sink in and feeling her whole heart hurt. He cared so much for her and Cecily despised her so much and neither of them actually knew her. Still Stefan was willing to fight for her, and Cecily realized that Elena wasn't just some Katherine-look-alike to Stefan…she was potentially his way of moving on and her heart felt broken, the tension in her chest rising painfully as Damon spoke.

"Where's your ring?" He asked his younger brother.

Stefan looked down, realizing that his way of walking around in the sunlight was gone and he was a little frightened. Cecily looked from the two and realized that Damon had it, putting her hands on her hips after wiping a tear away. She _hated_ crying, and yet she had a feeling she would be doing a _lot_ more of it because it was so obvious that the boys were staying in Mystic Falls and she…she didn't want to leave them.

"Wow…the sun's coming up in a couple of hours and…poof! Ashes to ashes." Damon told him, not really caring in the slightest.

Cecily glared at Damon. "Damon, give it back to him. This is over now."

"Fine." Damon responded, handing it to Stefan, but as Stefan took it Damon's face changed and he grabbed Stefan by the neck, throwing him against the shed, Cecily gasping.

"Damon!" She chastised, going for Stefan but stopping as Damon got there first.

"Stop thinking that you're stronger than me." Damon told him, looking down at him. "You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people and as you can see, Cecily won't always help you even though she can take me with a pinky finger. So…I wouldn't try it again."

They all stood there in silence until Damon smirked, heading into the mansion whistling because Zach was up and around. Cecily hurried over to Stefan and knelt down by him, kissing him softly and then looking him in the eye as she pushed her hair behind her ears. She wanted to stop the fight before it got _too_ bad, but she had a feeling that this was for the best—Stefan wouldn't try to go up against Damon again. Cecily thought that was a good thing because Damon wouldn't hold back and she didn't want Stefan to get hurt again.

"I'm sorry, Stefan." Cecily told him, surprised when he reached up to wipe her tears away. "I wanted to tell you, but I just…you were always right, you know? I can't change who I am like you can—it's been too long for me."

Stefan smiled sadly. "You need to stop giving up. I, uh…I take it you're staying here?"

"Damon invited me to." She explained nodding.

"Go on inside, I'll be in shortly." Stefan told her, getting off of the ground with her help and heading off, the ring on his finger where it belonged.

xx

Elizabeth leaned against Jeremy, his arm wrapped around her waist. Elizabeth tried comforting Jeremy—she tried and she helped a little but he was worried about Vikki, and he felt guilty for letting her go out in the woods by herself. Jeremy sighed as he noticed Elena walking over to them.

"I'll be over there." Elizabeth said giving Elena a sad smile leaving the siblings to go at it.

Elizabeth watched from a distance, listening in on their conversation. Elena tried telling Jeremy that he needed to move on from their parents' death because people were going to stop caring soon and not give him the easy way out anymore, but Jeremy just blew back in her face basically calling her a hypocrite. Then told her that Elizabeth was giving him a ride home and not to worry. Jeremy walked towards Elizabeth and Elizabeth guided him to her car giving Elena a reassuring smile.

Jeremy took Elizabeth's hand in his and she looked up at him smiling. He was in here care now and he trusted her already more than she knew, Elizabeth nodding slowly. She sighed though as they reached the Porsche and Jeremy's reaction to the car was just as she expected.

"This is your car?" He asked as she unlocked the door, Elizabeth smiling at him shaking her head as she climbed in. "How do you afford a car like this?"

She shrugged as he climbed in and buckled her seatbelt—safety first. "Rich absent parents, buckle up."

She didn't want to say they were dead since she would feel bad because of his parents—no matter the bonding they were two different experiences and Jeremy didn't need to think about his parents right then. Jeremy did as she said and she turned on the radio to a station she knew he would like, and he did. Then he had the same reaction to her house as he did to her car when they pulled up and went inside, and she laughed at him pulling out a bottle of red wine.

"This is about all I have right now," She said carrying it with her as she and Jeremy headed up the stairs.

Jeremy smiled as Elizabeth took him into her room, and Elizabeth pulled her jacket off. He looked at her taking in a breath as she pulled her blouse over her head, walking over to very large white doors. She opened the doors, looking over her clothes for a moment or two. Elizabeth knew that Jeremy was staring at her and she knew that he was thinking about the same things she was.

Elizabeth wasn't planning on this—she just wanted to be his friend—but this human…there was something about him that drew her to him, and she liked him very much. Besides, Jeremy wanted the same thing from her and for once they didn't have to think about anyone else. No Vikki, no Damon…it was just the two of them and they had things in common and Jeremy was a good guy—Elizabeth needed that.

"What to wear," Elizabeth mused as Jeremy walked over to her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, the heat of his body feeling good against her skin. He leaned down kissing her bare shoulder his hands trailing up her stomach. She turned around looking him in the eyes as he cupped her face. Jeremy slowly bent down wanting to kiss Elizabeth but not sure if she wanted it too. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down pressing her lips against his.

She needed him to know that she was there for him and that she wanted this too, glad to have someone there for her. His skin brushed against hers gently and he went to take his shirt off, Elizabeth helping him out of it. Then she went for his jeans and he went for hers, both of them shimmying out of them and then Elizabeth laid on the bed, letting Jeremy have the reins just because she knew that he needed it.

It didn't matter that they hadn't known each other very long—all that mattered was that in a time of need they were there for each other. They both need the closeness and they both already cared about each other, Elizabeth smiling as Jeremy stroked her hair and kissed her jawline, trailing kisses to her neck, Elizabeth glad because she could feel her eyes changing as she felt his heartbeat quicken.

Since she fed on humans sometimes, Elizabeth was able to get it under control by the time Jeremy looked at her again, pressing her lips back to his so there wouldn't be another moment like it. Jeremy just figured she wanted to get the act over and done with, but he didn't want her to feel like he was using her—he didn't want to just screw her and then discard her like Vikki had suggested he was like earlier on in the evening. He also hadn't done this too often, so all he really knew was how to make her feel like he was treating her well, and she appreciated it.

Honestly Elizabeth felt good when Jeremy finally pushed his flesh inside of hers, moving against her slowly and stroking her hair still, kissing her gently. He cared about her so much and Elizabeth smiled, both of them making eye contact and she helped him to set the pace, neither of them ruining the moment with words. Jeremy pressed his lips to Elizabeth's once more, running his hands along her skin and stroking her softly, bringing her over the edge before he did and being sure to scoop her up into his arms when it was over and he'd reached his peak too.

"You can stay if you want to." Elizabeth whispered, snuggling up against him and kissing his peck, wanting to lay there for a little while longer.

Jeremy smiled at her and kissed her softly, letting her know that that was exactly what he wanted, but he wasn't sure if he should or not. Elena and his Aunt Jenna were expecting him home and yet he could always call them. It would be nice to stay with Elizabeth for a little while longer just because he knew that she would never berate him like his family would. So he cradled her and kissed her hairline, running his nose along her hair and holding her close to him.

xx

Cecily saw Damon take off to go and have his fun, promising to be under the radar about it all, and Cecily believing him whether she should or not. Stefan was gone and she didn't want to be in the mansion alone with Zach so she took a walk…and she ended up following Stefan. Part of her wanted to talk things out again, and the other part of her really wanted to just apologize—just tell him that she really still loved him.

The thing about Cecily was that she was too stubborn to do the latter. She wanted to try again with Stefan _so badly_ but she didn't think she was good enough for him. Here he had a chance to move on and leave the past behind like he wanted, and yet she was standing in his way. How could she do that to him? If she continued to be in his way, she was simply doing what she had sworn she would never do. She had to protect him…she had to protect all of them.

"It's a lonely life, but _you_ signed up for it." She whispered to herself as she walked.

At first Cecily had no idea where they were ending up, but the moment she saw Elena sitting near the giant glass window she nodded. Elena might not have been Katherine, but she sure as Hell was making Cecily's life just as hard. This was where Stefan wanted to stay and where Damon had business and where Elizabeth wanted to be and then there was Cecily…still feeling like she had to protect all of them.

But what about Cecily? What about what _she_ wanted to do? Eventually she was going to have to _really_ move on and she wasn't sure _how_ she was going to do that when she still just wanted Stefan. She hadn't come back for him—she hadn't thought he would be here—but she wanted to stay _for_ him…she just knew she shouldn't. No matter what, she had to be here when Damon did what he wanted so that meant starting over.

Mystic Falls was a place for Cecily to start a new life and that meant that she could do anything that she wanted. She was sure that a founding family might need a nanny or a secretary or something and she could do that—it kept her busy, kept suspicion off of her, and it kept her in the loop. Maybe that was what Cecily needed to do…maybe she needed to branch off and make a new little circle of friends.

"It's not like you're not strong enough to move forward." She promised herself.

She smiled sadly as Elena opened up the door for Stefan, Stefan still in pain over his fight with Damon and Cecily giving up. He needed a place to go to escape his past for a little while and no matter how badly it tore her apart inside, Cecily needed to let him do just that. So she simply watched as Stefan stood there on Elena's stoop, both of them looking into each other's eyes and she felt the tears come, but she wasn't going to cry.

"I know it's late, but uh…I just needed to know that you were okay." Stefan explained to her, Cecily helpless to do anything about it.

Elena looked at him. "You know, for months that was all anyone wondered about me: if I'll be okay."

"What do you tell them?" Stefan asked her.

"That I'll be fine." Elena replied with a soft shrug.

"Do you ever mean it?" He asked slowly.

She thought about it a minute. "Ask me tomorrow."

Cecily nodded and wiped a tear away as he and Elena shared a moment, letting it sink in that she couldn't be Stefan's rock anymore. Her whole existence after Stefan had been about Stefan being in her heart and yet something always got in the way and she seemed to let things ruin what they had. She couldn't change after all of this time being a vampire that acted like a vampire…could she?

"We can talk…would you like to come in?" Elena asked Stefan, moving out of the way for him to come in if he so chose to.

Stefan smiled, trying to keep his composure. "Yes."

Elena smiled back and moved more out of his way, Stefan walking across the threshold and Cecily smiled sadly. He had just made a choice and Cecily had to accept it so she started walking, ignoring the pain in her chest. Eventually it would go away but for now…for now she had a mansion to go back to and tomorrow was just another day.

**Note: And there is the long ass 39-page chapter! We hope you enjoyed it and we can't wait to hear what you think so far! Feedback is always appreciated!**


	3. Trying to Start Over

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Here is another chapter and it is **_**really**_** long!**

**We **_**really**_** hope you enjoy it though!**

**We enjoyed writing it and we hope you have just as much or more fun reading it.**

**WARNINGS: ****Language, Violence, Sex, Drugs, Drinking, Blood, Dark Themes**

xxxx

Elizabeth smiled laughing a little as Jeremy kissed her shoulder. Elizabeth opened her eyes to see Jeremy smiling at her and she leaned in kissing him.

"You're sister is going to be so pissed at you." She said then kissed him again as he chuckled.

"Yeah she is," He said tangling his fingers in her hair.

"Um, ew." Elizabeth heard Damon said and she sat up pulling the covers to herself.

"What the Hell!" She said as Jeremy sat up looking at the man standing at the foot of the bed smirking at the two.

"Hello Lizzie, nice to see you're enjoying yourself." He said leaning against the bed post.

"You know this guy?" Jeremy asked and Damon smirked.

"She knows me the same way she knows you…as of last night that is." Damon said and Jeremy looked at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth groaned and flopped down on the bed pulling the pillow over her face. Great, of course Damon would show up and ruin this perfectly amazing moment for her. It wasn't enough for him to go out and sleep with whomever he wanted, sometimes within _earshot_ of her, but the second she finds something good for herself, he had to make it potentially awkward for her.

"Damon, get the Hell out of my house now!" She yelled lifting the pillow from her face.

Damon laughed shaking his head and walked out of the room. Jeremy rolled over so he was facing Lizzie. Her pulled the pillow off of her and smiled a little seeing how frustrated she was.

"Who was that?" He asked and she looked at him frowning now.

"My ex." She admitted and Jeremy nodded lying down beside her.

Jeremy looked at her as she closed her eyes—there was a lot he didn't know about her, and he wanted to find out more about her. Things happened between them, and he really cared about her, but he didn't know anything of relevance yet really. Elizabeth took steady breaths calming her nerves, keeping her emotions in check. Jeremy smiled stroking her hair then bent down kissing her gently.

"You can go take a shower, and I'm going to go deal with my crazy ex boyfriend who is now in my living room." She said sitting up and pulling the covers off of Jeremy, and sticking her tongue out at him.

Elizabeth pointed to the bathroom and she pulled on Jeremy's shirt, then reached into her drawer and pulled out some underwear, slipping them on before running out of the room. She needed to take care of Damon and she needed to make sure that she could keep this controlled. Damon looked up at her from his perch on the couch and smiled at her as she came into the living room.

"What is up with you and Stefan with these Gilberts? My God, Lizzie, he's three years younger than you, technically speaking." He said standing up walking towards her and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What do you want Damon?" She asked and Damon smiled tilting his head to the side. "Stop with the eye thing."

She waved her hands around and groaned as he did it. Damon chuckled, loving that he still had this effect on her. It meant that to some extent he had an edge over her and he liked feeling like he had some sort of control—she hated it when he felt that way.

"Cee sent me over—well she mentioned stopping by but I told her I'd just tell you to come over to the mansion, sort of like a meeting." He said walking into her kitchen, Elizabeth mumbling following close behind.

"Okay you told me so leave." She said as he reached in her fridge and pulled out a Butterfinger and unwrapped it.

"I will," He said taking a bite and Elizabeth glared.

"Stop eating my candy and get the Hell out of my house!" She yelled and with a blink of an eye Damon was gone.

She was glad that he was, but she couldn't dwell on it too much because she smelled smoke. She turned around to see Jeremy walking down the stairs, a joint in hand wanting to laugh a little because it was like the first thing in the morning and he was already getting high. He was adorable.

"There's my shirt." He smiled and Elizabeth smiled too, watching as he took a hit of the joint.

"Really? This early in the morning?" Elizabeth asked and he shrugged.

"I've got to have something to calm me down with all of the yelling I'm going to get as soon as I step foot in my house." Elizabeth frowned wishing he wouldn't get in trouble and sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"Okay, I'm going to go get ready then I'll drop you off at your house." She said and he nodded taking another hit. "Feel free to raid my fridge and well just get comfortable, I'll be down in a bit."

Elizabeth pulled his shirt over her head surprising Jeremy and he choked on the smoke. Elizabeth chuckling and walking past him and up her stairs. She pulled out her phone as she grabbed a dress from her closet, and a bra heading for the bathroom. Luckily she had taken a shower last night after Jeremy went to sleep but she hadn't fed—she hadn't fed it about a day in a half, and Jeremy's beating heart was tempting her. She dialed Cee's number putting her strapless bra on then putting on some deodorant.

"I am so sorry Liz, I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen." Cee said on the phone and Elizabeth chuckled.

"Damon is of the least of my problem's right now Cee; please tell me you have some sort of blood lying around." She said putting her on speaker phone as she pulled her dress on.

"No, what is it Liz?" Cee asked worried and Liz groaned applying eyeliner.

"Nothing really I just haven't fed, and there's an extremely cute and very alive boy downstairs who I like very much, and I don't want to miss school." Cecily chuckled a little lying down in a lounge chair that was in the study.

"So feed off of him. Is it that Jeremy kid?" She asked and Elizabeth smiled running the brush threw her hair.

"Yeah it's Jeremy, and no I can't do that to him…he's too…important to me." Elizabeth smiling a little and Cecily smiled happy—Elizabeth was moving on.

"Uh oh, Elizabeth's in love." Cecily teased and Damon poked his head into the room, Cecily looking up at him and rolling her eyes.

"Shut up Cee…but he's just so…so incredibly sweet, and that's what I need. No more assholes like Damon." Elizabeth said Damon listening in on the conversation.

Cecily glanced at Damon, seeing a hurt look fly across his face but as soon as it came, it left just as quickly. She smiled a little brighter when Patrick came into the room shirtless, Damon nodding approvingly at the bite mark on his chest. Elizabeth may have been above feeding on Jeremy, but after the night Cecily had had, she was _not_ above feeding on her French teacher.

"Well I'm happy for you," Cecily said giving Damon a look as he walked towards her. "Well I have to go because Damon's trying to snatch the phone!"

The line went dead and Elizabeth sighed and closed her phone with a small laugh. Elizabeth gave herself a once over feeling self conscious and then decided that sooner or later no matter how she felt, she had to get up.

"Oh God," Elizabeth said smiling a little—she hadn't felt this way since she was human, and she first met…Damon.

_Elizabeth Peterson sat in the very back of the small café' sipping on her coffee. She had snuck out that night, to get away from her mother. Ever since her father left her mother, she became abusive, verbally and physically. She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief as a few tears feel from her eyes. _

_Damon Salvatore sat with his brother Stefan, and his friend Cecily Harrison. Stefan and Cecily were in their own world, making eyes at each other, laughing about something. Damon looked around bored, and then he noticed the small girl in the corner, her dark blue eyes red rimmed. She was beautiful, that was his first thought. She was small, fragile looking, her dark locks covered her face, in a way where it looked like she was hiding, which she was…and she was innocent looking, which is what Damon liked most about her._

"_Well she's pretty," Cecily said noticing the small girl Damon was looking at._

_The girl looked up noticing the three most beautiful people in the room staring at her. She blushed and turned her head back to her coffee, her hands shaking. Damon smirked and stood up, he turned to the two love birds as they laughed some more._

"_Don't wait up tonight," He said and then turned walking towards the small frigid girl._

_Damon stood not but two feet away from her, but she didn't look up at him, she didn't even acknowledge his presence. But she knew he was there, and that's why she wasn't looking up. She didn't want someone seeing her in such a broken state, especial not such a handsome man…but that wasn't stopping Damon._

"_Can I sit here?" He asked smiling and Elizabeth slowly raised her head, looking Damon in they eyes for the first time and her heart skipped a beat._

Elizabeth groaned shaking off the memory. She didn't need to be thinking about Damon, it was only going to upset her, and ruin her day. She took a breath and walked out of the room, Jeremy lying on her bed chowing down on one of her candy bars. He looked at her and smiled his face heating up.

"You look beautiful," Jeremy couldn't stop himself and he blushed a little as Elizabeth smiled pulling on some flats.

"Thank you." She said grabbing her book bag, mentally thanking Cecily for doing her homework for her while she had gotten ready for the party last night and Jeremy stood up as Elizabeth grabbed her keys.

"Come on Jer, let's get you home." She said, and once she dropped on Jeremy she went straight for the Salvatore mansion, Cecily waiting on the porch for her.

Cecily had been pretty excited to see Elizabeth coming towards her, not because of what she wanted to talk to her about, but because she needed to see her friend. Patrick came out of the front door with his bag slung over his shoulder, smiling at Cecily and kissing her gently before he headed out, nodding at Elizabeth. Cecily had explained to him that she was a family friend of Elizabeth's _and_ of Stefan's and though there were things she had forced him to understand, she was all right with that.

"He stayed over last night?" Elizabeth asked her.

Cecily laughed loudly. "Yeah…it's a long story. Long story short, Stefan was out at Elena's until late and I ran into Patrick at the bar. One thing led to another and I brought him home."

"Did you feed off of him?" Elizabeth asked slowly.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't." Cecily said with a shrug. "Stefan and Damon are both inside, I just…I wanted the four of us to all talk about something important, okay?"

"Whatever you need, I'm here." Elizabeth told her nodding.

To be fair, the four of them hadn't all been together in the same room yet and it was kind of awkward…they weren't sure what to say. Elizabeth still didn't know about the actual physical confrontation that the boys had had and Stefan didn't know why Cecily was so adamant about the meeting. All she knew was that she had school soon and she needed to make sure that she could get there in time.

"Long story short since you all look nervous or bored already," Cecily said suddenly, looking directly at Damon who definitely looked bored, "Feeding on and killing/maiming random people—don't do it. Yeah, the stick-in-the-mud side of me is back, but get over it because I don't want us to be hunted. This day and age is more likely to see that vampires are real given the ridiculous fiction the teenagers read nowadays so be careful, okay? Fine…you're excused, Damon."

Almost as soon as Cecily had said 'day and age', Damon had left the room because he didn't want to be lectured. Cecily just sighed since the meeting was more for Damon than anyone else and then offered to drive Stefan and Elizabeth to school. Stefan accepted and Elizabeth gave Cecily a look because she had her own car—in fact she had a Porsche.

"I have a car." Elizabeth told her.

Cecily nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, I know, so do I—I just figured that maybe you'd wanna give it a rest and it's not like you can't come back here for it. The three of us would have a chance to talk about things."

"It could be fun—as long as Cee doesn't swerve off of the road and kill us all." Stefan said with a laugh.

"Oh whatever, Mr. Negative." Cecily responded, smiling at him as she laughed too.

Elizabeth smiled at them, glad to see them getting along so well, wondering if she should take them up on the offer or go on her own and leave them to talk amongst themselves some more. Stefan was thinking how nice it was to have the two of them near him again and Cecily just wanted to be able to spend time with them like this, knowing that with just Stefan she'd feel awkward.

"You know, Liz, you could live here if you wanted." Stefan told her suddenly. "I mean that way there's always a carpool and you wouldn't have to live in that giant house all by yourself."

Elizabeth practically choked on her own saliva. "Eww—I mean obviously not _you two_, but I just…I'd rather live in a cave feeding off of beetles and drinking my own boiled urine than live in the same house with Damon."

"You mean you don't do that now? Huh." Damon said as he re-entered the room and grabbed a book from the bookshelf. "I forgot to bring Kipling with me."

"I hate you." Elizabeth said with a sigh.

Cecily laughed. "We all hate him—you guys want that ride or not?"

They accepted and she explained the previous nights' events with the Salvatores to Elizabeth, trying not to have to talk about Patrick. She knew that Stefan had heard them the night before and it wasn't even like they had sex—Cecily was in it strictly for the talking, cuddling, and the midnight snack. Elizabeth ended up insisting she and Cecily talk more about the fight since Stefan was blowing it off, and then she kissed Cecily's cheek before heading towards the school.

"I'll tell Mr. Strauss that you say 'hi'." Elizabeth teased her.

Cecily laughed awkwardly. "Just be good—you too, Stefan."

"Whatever you say, Mom." Stefan teased and Cecily blushed.

She knew she was mother henning and she needed to stop, so she just drove away and then returned to the mansion, eating some cereal. Cecily had known she needed a job and so she'd been circling ads in the paper, finally settling on a job she wanted. Zach had left earlier and Damon came into the kitchen, looking down at the newspaper and all of Cecily's little circles. He had hoped she was going to be lazy like him, but she was starting to revert back to the Cecily he and Stefan had first been acquainted with.

"_She's going to catch cold if she doesn't bundle up at night." Cecily explained, taking a deep breath. "Can you give her, her coat please, Damon?"_

_Damon smirked at Cecily. "You know you're not Katherine's mother, right?"_

"_Damon, just give her the coat, please?" Stefan stepped in._

_He understood that Cecily was just looking out for her 'dearest friend' and he admired that about her. She didn't go out of her way to have fun with them all as Katherine did, but it wasn't like she was always cold. Stefan had a way of getting her to smile even when she didn't want to, and when she __**did**__ play games with them, she was fun to be around. Still, Stefan and Damon always wondered __**why**__ she felt like she had to mother everyone __**all**__ the time._

"_Fine, I'll do it." Damon replied and then he was off._

_Cecily watched him as he hurried away. "You know, you could wear a coat too, Mister!"_

Actually come to think of it, Damon realized that he didn't know _anything_ about Cecily's past _before_ him. All he knew was that she was a _lot_ older than him and that she knew Katherine _far_ better than he and Stefan had ever come to understanding. She was an open book and yet there were chapters that were ripped out and locked away. It wasn't the time or place, so Damon instead decided to tease her for old times' sakes.

"Why is this circled?" Damon asked her, pointing to one of the ads.

Cecily looked up from her cereal and raised her eyebrows. "To remind me which address to go to, Damon."

"They're looking for a nanny." Damon explained to her, raising his eyebrows as well.

"Yeah, Damon—I can read." Cecily said laughing a little. "I know that's easier for some of us than for others."

"Even _I_ don't drink from children, Cee." Damon replied, annoyed she had just made fun of him and his reading habits.

Cecily looked appalled suddenly. "Damon! I'm not going to drink from their kid! I'm just going to get a job since we're going to be here for a while."

"Whatever helps you to sleep at night." Damon told her as he grabbed a pack of blood out of the fridge.

"Go away, Damon." Cecily said finally, finishing off her cereal.

Damon looked at her and he nodded, understanding that she was still upset about the night before. A lot of things had happened to her and she didn't really want to talk about them and Damon didn't want to pry and make her think that he cared even though he did. So instead, Damon decided to change the subject so that he could stay in the room with her and not have to be off on his own even though he could stalk his new prey: Caroline.

"So this teacher guy you're all into now?" Damon asked suddenly.

Cecily chuckled as she put the bowl into the sink. "I'm not all into him. He's sweet and funny and attractive but…I just used him for a midnight snack—not that the spooning wasn't nice, because it was."

"So he's just to make Stefan jealous then? Like Jeremy is there for Liz to make _me_ jealous?" Damon asked her.

"First of all, I'm not trying to make Stefan jealous and second of all, leave Elizabeth and Jeremy alone. You're a terrible person and Jeremy is good for her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to apply for." Cecily told him as she grabbed the newspaper. "Stay out of trouble today, or I will have to end you."

"Yeah, whatever." Damon responded briefly.

He thought about what Cecily had said about Jeremy and it made up his mind—he was going to prove to her that he didn't care about Elizabeth and Jeremy and go after Caroline. As he headed to do that, Cecily drove to the large, expensive house of Madeline and Christopher Grey. It was her first choice even when the door opened and their son, Matthew, ran out of it, his back pack on, yelling about how he didn't want to go to school…this was _definitely_ a place for Cecily to mother.

"Matthew! Get back here!" His father called after him, hurrying along.

Madeline came to the door and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry about that. You must be Cecily Harrison."

"That would be me, guilty as charged." Cecily responded, watching as Christopher got a hold of his son. "I take it that's Matthew."

"That would be our pride and joy." Madeline responded looking worried. "Please don't tell me you want to back out now—we can't get a new nanny…it was hard enough trying to keep the other one."

Cecily smiled at her. "Trust me…I've handled worse."

"Then the job is yours if you want it." Madeline told her grinning.

xx

Elizabeth tapped her pen on the desk sighing as she waited for everyone else in the class to finish their pop quizzes. She was the first to finish, and had already gotten her test back, A+ obviously. She raised her hand and the teacher Mr. Tanner nodded waving her forward.

"What is it Miss. Peterson?" He whispered and she glanced at the clock making sure she really had forty-five minutes of class left.

"Sir, since I'm finished may I leave?" Elizabeth asked eager to get out and feed before she had to go through the rest of the day hungry.

"No, we have a lesson today—you'll just have to wait until your classmates finish." He said and Elizabeth growled quietly frustrated.

There was only one way out of a mess like this and Elizabeth didn't want to have to do it with the whole class behind her, but she was desperate. She got cranky when she didn't have any human blood in her system and so she placed both her hands on his desk leaning towards him.

"Let me leave." She said compelling him and Mr. Tanner went blank.

"Elizabeth feel free to leave since you've already finished your test." He said mutely and she grinned then went back to her desk.

She got looks from Stefan—he had also finished his test before everyone—and she stuck her tongue out at him, grabbing her book bag and quickly left the class. Elizabeth went to her locker first humming a little as she pulled out her math book shoving into her bag. She shut her locker and headed for the doors leading out of the school, looking around, trying to find a stray human she could fed off.

"Hey Lizzie," She heard Tyler call and she glanced to her side to see Tyler walking towards her.

She rolled her eyes turning away, still looking then smiled because it was almost like he'd fallen right into her lap. Tyler…she could feed on Tyler. She smiled and turned back meeting him halfway, her new plan set into motion already.

"You want to go to the football field? I don't think anyone's there." Elizabeth said smiling up at Tyler and he grinned.

"Sure," He said and Elizabeth smiled and grabbed his hand leading him to the football field.

Elizabeth let go of his hand, leading him where no one would be able to see the two. Then she stopped and Tyler smiled pulling her towards him because he was expecting something a _lot_ different than what _she_ was planning. He put his hand on her neck and she smirked, needing this so badly.

"This might hurt a little." She said her eyes changing and then she jumped tearing into the flesh on Tyler's neck, his blood flowing into her mouth but she pulled back gagging, her throat burning, her bodying becoming numb—she fell off Tyler, him falling to the ground as well.

"Elizabeth!" She head Damon scream and he was over to her in minutes.

"He…vervain." Elizabeth said remembering that Stefan had warned her about Tyler probably having vervain in his system.

"What the Hell is she?" Tyler asked standing up holding his hand to his neck, Damon turning to him his eyes the same as Elizabeth's, though Damon was determined to kill Tyler, Elizabeth stopping him by grabbing his hand.

"Don't…kill…him." She choked out and let go of his hand praying he would listen.

Damon looked at her his eyes softening truly worried about Elizabeth. No matter what he said to everyone else about her being his little prop, seeing her hurt like this reminded him of the feelings he always kept buried. Damon nodded then stood up and he was suddenly right in front of Tyler and rung his hands around his throat.

"You will forget you ever saw Elizabeth today—you were attacked by an animal." He threw Tyler aside then scooped Elizabeth up in his arms not stopping until he was threw the doors of the mansion.

Zach had left, Cecily was off job-hunting, and so Damon had the house to himself, he laid Elizabeth on his bed sitting beside her. She just looked so helpless there and so beautiful…so small and vulnerable just like when he'd first laid eyes on her. There was something about looking at her there that brought memories back for Damon too.

_Damon stood outside the Peterson house, listening to Elizabeth's mother screaming at her calling her foul names that didn't even belong in the same sentence as her name. Elizabeth didn't want him to interfere, but he couldn't just stand outside her house when her mother hit her then grabbed a knife of the counter. Damon was in her house, already have been invited in before. He grabbed Elizabeth's mother by her neck growling at her slamming her against the wall. Elizabeth cried from the corner she was in, begging Damon not to kill her._

"_You brought the devil into my house! I knew you were like your father! You un Christian little whore!" Damon slammed her against the wall again._

"_You will never touch Elizabeth again, you will never speak to her, you will never even see her again." Elizabeth's mother cried closing her eyes as she squirmed in her hold, Damon dropped her, the knife falling to the ground. Damon turned to Elizabeth and helped her up holding her face in his hands._

"_Are you okay, did she hurt you badly?" He asked his fingers brushing against the cut on her lip. Elizabeth shook her head crying. "It will be okay Lizzie, I get you a place to say, you don't have to stay with her anymore. I love you."_

"Damon…" Elizabeth said and Damon smiled stroking her hair.

"I'm here Liz; it will stop soon, just rest." He said leaning down to kiss her check.

Elizabeth closed her eyes as she felt his lips on her skin. She wanted to cry…Damon was trying to help her but that was the last thing she needed—a sweet, caring Damon to help her when she was in distress. It was too much like the old Damon…the one she had finally accepted didn't exist, but now she was getting a glimpse of him.

_Elizabeth smiled up at Damon as he held the rose in front of her pulling her attention away from her book. She took the flower from him inhaling the smell, a grin spreading across her face._

"_Why are you always so sweet?" She asked as Damon kissed her lips, Damon picking her up ignoring her protest carrying her into the bedroom._

"_Because I love you," He said and Elizabeth smiled wrapping her arms around his neck._

"_I love you too." She said kissing him._

xx

Cecily had had a pretty trying morning trying to get Matthew to school and she was going to have to pick him up too. She rubbed her temples, trying to figure out why she was doing this when she could be like Damon, lounging around doing absolutely nothing. Still, being around children helped because Cecily had always wanted a family, but then she had been turned into a vampire…by the only man other than Stefan that she'd ever _truly_ been in love with.

"_Klaus, I don't get it." Cecily said softly, smiling at him and feeling rather entranced by his electric blue eyes, running her fingers through his blonde hair._

_Klaus was far older than Cecily would ever be able to comprehend, and for some reason he had allowed her to be his companion. Whether or not he actually loved her was beside the point—the point was that she did things for him and that he had turned her long enough ago that she was strong. He hadn't wanted to taint her __**too**__ much given her strong will, but at the same time he had hoped she'd become more of a killer than she was._

"_You're not necessarily supposed to __**get**__ it, Cess." Klaus informed her, kissing her temple. "I'm feeling a little famished."_

_Cecily smiled and closed the book they'd been reading together. "Then we should find someone to feed on."_

"_Do you like this town, Cess?" Klaus asked her seriously. "We don't have to __**stay**__ here if you don't want to."_

"_I could do for a change of scenery." Cecily admitted with a small shrug. "Did you have a little maiming fun in mind? We haven't had that kind of fun in a while and I'm kind of excited to see what you have in mind."_

_Klaus smiled and kissed his little companion softly. "I've taught you well, Cess."_

_Cecily smiled at him and then hurried up in her dress, glad to have such a man by her side even though he wasn't really a man…he was a vampire. He only kept her around because she was good company and because she always did as he said—she followed directions well. No matter what happened, Klaus' word was the law for her and she would follow him until the ends of the Earth._

"So it's going to be a long day…you've been through _so_ much worse, Cess." Cecily told herself nodding.

Cecily kept trying to tell herself that she was going to be fine, heading for the mansion because there was nothing else to do. She had pretty much started her job right off the bat and she needed to figure out how she was going to keep Matthew busy. What would she have done for her own child? Did she even know that anymore?

Once upon a time she had been married and she had thought about starting a family but in came Klaus, killing her husband and then turning her into a vampire against her will. At first Cecily was bitter about it, but soon she realized that having eternal life meant that she would never again be a man's property…she'd never again have to answer to anyone but herself—and of course Klaus. He'd taught her so much and showed her so many things and she just didn't think that she could deny him anything ever.

"Damon? Are you home?" Cecily asked aloud and then she felt it—something was wrong. "Lizzie?"

Cecily hurried with lightning speed to Damon's room, opening up the door without knocking and seeing Damon there looking down at Elizabeth fondly. He tried to compose himself but Cecily saw right through him and smirked a little bit, shaking her head. She knew what Elizabeth needed and she knew that Damon knew that, but he was sitting by her side instead.

The vervain in her system wasn't going to kill her, so Damon was able to make her wait it out while he got to be near her. Cecily under normal circumstances would just let him do this, but she needed to know what was going on. Damon was going to have to play by _her_ rules and though he wouldn't like it, he couldn't take her and he knew he probably never could, so he'd have to do what she wanted.

"What exactly happened?" Cecily asked him.

Damon looked directly at her. "She tried to feed on Tyler and he has vervain in his blood."

"Well obviously, he's the mayor's son." Cecily replied and hurried out of the room to the fridge, coming back almost as quickly as she had left. "What she needs is some fresh blood in her system to flush it out, so why not feed her what you're hording away?"

"If you're so into this doctoring business then why don't _you_ do it?" Damon asked her coldly.

"Because _you_ obviously _want_ to." Cecily replied tossing him the bag of blood.

Damon tossed it back. "I have things to do—I just wanted her in a safe place."

"Of course…" Cecily said nodding, sitting next to Elizabeth and taking over as Damon left, looking at her and smiling a little, "Damon still loves you, I think."

"Damon just likes being in charge." Elizabeth managed, feeling her eyes change as Cecily opened the pack of blood with her teeth.

Cecily handed the bag over pretty quickly, Elizabeth taking it eagerly and drinking it down, slowly at first. She still felt pretty tired and the burning sensation was still there but it was lessening, the more blood that she drank. She was still going to have to rest, but having the extra human blood in her system was helping and she was glad that Cecily was there. In fact Cecily even cuddled up against her and stroked her hair, having had her fair share of vervain in _her_ system before too.

"If you're not going to feed on Jer, the least I can do is find you someone that you _can_ feed on." Cecily whispered to her, holding the girl she felt so sisterly to close. "Have you heard any word on how Vikki is doing? Does Jer know anything more?"

"Jeremy went to see her this morning…but he didn't tell me—he thinks I'll be upset with him I think…" Elizabeth said shrugging a little.

Cecily smiled because it was apparent that Elizabeth honestly liked Jeremy. He was sweet, and he cared about Elizabeth, plus he showed his affection openly not hiding it away like Damon did with Elizabeth. Jeremy was able to show Elizabeth that he truly cared about her, and he didn't care who knew that…he made her feel like she was actually as special as she was.

"What is it with Vikki anyway? What's he like so much about her?" Cecily asked and Elizabeth shrugged looking up at the ceiling.

"From what I've heard, she deflowered him, and he fell for her but she doesn't want to date him 'cause he's younger than her. I mean he's years younger than me and I'd date him in a heart beat." Elizabeth said smiling a little, Cecily glanced at her. "He's just so sweet. I mean when I'm with him I feel safe, which is weird since I'm a vampire. He's just so different then Damon. He let's people see how much he cares for me, he's honest with me…he doesn't leave me alone in the bed in the morning."

Cecily looked directly at her, her eyes widening…wait a second. She wasn't slow on the uptake—she knew what Elizabeth meant—she was just surprised that things had progressed so soon. They didn't know much about each other, but at the same time they knew all they really needed when you were a vampire moving from place to place.

"You and Jer had sex?" She asked and Elizabeth smiled nodding.

"Yeah," She said and Cecily sat up sitting crossed legged.

"You have to tell me everything! Like every last detail." Cecily said and Elizabeth laughed sitting up slowly, Elizabeth feeling better, she was just really exhausted.

"What you mean every detail? I'm not going to go all descriptive if that's what you're saying." Elizabeth laughed and Cecily rolled her eyes shaking her head.

"No, I mean…how did it start? What was it like—you know the basics." Cecily said smiling, smiling more as Elizabeth smiled too and took in a breath.

"I didn't plan it, I just wanted to you know be friends but I well…I sort of teased him a little—I had taken my shirt off to change." Elizabeth said looking up at Cecily as she laughed.

"Yeah you _so_ didn't plan it." Cecily teased and Elizabeth hit her playfully. "Now come on I need more than that. Was it sweet and sensual or well you know?" Cecily said winking and Elizabeth snorted, sighing and smiling a little.

"He was really sweet." Elizabeth started looking up at Cecily. "He was so nervous—not that he showed it or anything—but he was just so afraid that I didn't really want it to happen. It was the most…intimate I have ever felt with anyone."

Cecily grinned happy Elizabeth was starting to be able to move on. It was about time that Elizabeth found herself in a _healthy _relationship and though Cecily wanted to invite Jeremy to dinner to grill him since he might potentially be dating one of her dearest friends, she was okay with him. The only person standing in their way was Damon…and Cecily wasn't sure what _he_ was going to do about the situation.

"There's a difference between intimacy, and pleasured thoughts, Lizzie." Damon said walking towards the two girls on the bed.

He had come back to make sure Elizabeth was doing okay—not that he would admit it—and had heard the girls' entire conversation. Elizabeth stood up, putting one of her hands on her hips. Damon smiled grabbing her chin tilting her face up towards him, Cecily shaking her head and making a face.

"You may have felt close to your little human, but you will never be able to fully love him, because all you'll think about is me." Damon said and Elizabeth slapped him in the face leaving a red hand mark.

Elizabeth felt the tears forming in her eyes as she glared up at Damon. "I hate you so much."

Elizabeth growled a tear falling down her cheek then she was gone. Damon smirked at Cecily as she stood up, her glaring at him. She had half the mind to just rip him a new one for treating Elizabeth so, but she knew she didn't want to _kill_ Damon…he'd been there for her before. They were still friends even when he was a giant ass.

"She'll be back." Damon said as his smirk grew, and then suddenly he felt knuckles in his face and he hit the ground with force, knowing that had Cecily wanted, she could have hurt him _so_ much worse than making blood come out of his nose. "What the Hell? I think you broke my nose!"

Cecily got up and shrugged, grabbing her bag. "It'll heal momentarily. Stop being an ass. Now I'm going to go pick Matty up from school and you need to find a new hobby—one that has nothing to do with Elizabeth."

"That wasn't very nice—Liz can take it and fight her own battles." Damon responded, picking himself up and feeling his nose heal as he looked at the blood on his fingers.

"Yeah, but as her best friend I have the right to fight _for_ her." Cecily explained to him. "I'm off—be good today."

Cecily headed out as Stefan headed inside, smiling at her as he took his bag off of his shoulder, asking her how she was. She explained she was running late to pick up Matthew because she'd gotten the nanny job, and headed out as Stefan congratulated her. Honestly Cecily thought that it would be good and fun, but Matthew was a handful and so obviously wanted his parents and _not_ Cecily.

It was one big fight all the way from the school, to the car, to his house, where she found out he didn't have the key on him, so they had to change locations. The only place that she could think of was the mansion and she didn't want Matthew to be in the same place as Damon but she had no other options. So she phoned the Greys and told them she was locked out and taking Matthew with her, them letting her do it and hanging up quickly, Cecily sighing—mansion it was.

When she got there, Matthew was in awe, but that lasted only a little while and then he started running around. Cecily had to follow him everywhere after telling Damon and Stefan to behave, trying her hardest to get Matthew to calm down without having to manipulate him. She knew that she was a vampire and that she could make Matthew do whatever it was that she wanted, but he was just a child—that wouldn't be right.

"I'm going to eat him." Damon threatened when Matthew ran out of his room with a book.

Cecily shot him a look as she paused in the hall, rather annoyed herself. "I will kill you before you get the chance to do that."

"Fresh blood." Damon said suddenly, he and Cecily both sensing Elena. "I'm inviting her in, you get that under control."

"You're _not_ charming in the slightest." Cecily told him making a face.

"I am too!" Damon called after her, going to let Elena inside.

Cecily hurried after Matthew, who sat in a chair finally, opening up the book he'd found in Damon's room. It was Kipling and Cecily didn't mind him reading it—besides, he almost looked like he had tuckered himself out and Cecily was thankful for that. All she wanted was to become Matthew's friend, but that was going to take some time.

"Is Stefan here?" Cecily heard Elena asked Damon and that was it—Matthew was off again like a bullet, running out into the hall and then stood still for a moment to look at Elena before heading down the hallway opposite Cecily, heading for another room.

"Matty!" Cecily called after him, stopping in front of Elena.

"Oh…wow…you live here with them. So you two must…and he?" Elena tried, pointing at Damon, then to Cecily and then towards where Matthew had disappeared, Matthew coming back out and focusing on a lamp.

Cecily gave Elena a look of pure disgust. "Oh my God, no. Damon and I? Wow…no. And Matty? Not mine, I'm a nanny and we got locked out of his house, however I _do_ live here. Eww…you thought Damon and I? No. Matty! No!"

Cecily wasn't quick enough—Matthew bumped into the table with the lamp and it fell off, crashing to the ground. She groaned and Elena held in a laugh as Damon shot her a look and Cecily knew she was going to have to pay for that. Matthew was a handful, but at least he was helping Cecily to forget about the ridiculous things.

"You're paying for that, Cee." Damon told her, looking at the vase that he and Cecily had been talking about earlier.

Cecily took a deep breath. "Entertain Elena, I have to go yell at him for breaking the vase that you told me twenty minutes ago that you hated."

"Well I'd rather Stefan be mad at you than at me." Damon joked, smirking at her.

"Oh…good, point. Stefan! Damon broke the vase!" Cecily called up to him and then she was off to find Matthew who was curled up on her bed with his book. "Do you want something to eat, Matty?"

Matthew looked up at her, tired and smiled a little. "I could do for some food. You're not tired of me yet?"

"No," Cecily told him smiling a little and laughing. "Sandwich, Matty?"

xx

Elizabeth frowned sitting alone in Mystic Falls, only park. Elizabeth had calmed down a little, but her eyes were still red and puffy, and Damon's words to clung to her making her cry a little more. How could he do that to her? Be such a complete asshole when she was happy. Elizabeth sighed and buried her face in her knees and let out a sob.

"Elizabeth," She heard Jeremy say then felt his presence in front of her. She looked up to see him. Jeremy saw the tears and his face fell. He took her face in his hands wiping away some tears. "Lizzie what is it?" He asked truly concerned and Elizabeth frowned trying her hardest to hold back another sob but she slipped and he pulled himself to her, holding her tight as she cried into his shoulder.

Jeremy stroked her hair, saying things to soothe her wondering why she was crying. Jeremy hadn't known her long, but every time he saw her she had a huge smile and she was always happy. This was a side of her he'd never seen and he wanted to help her, learn what had caused her to be like this. But then something he thought of what could have caused it.

"What he do?" Jeremy asked surprising Elizabeth. She pulled back to look at him and he stroked her hair.

"You are so amazing." Elizabeth said smiling a little then hugged him. Jeremy wrapped his arms around her and Elizabeth closed her eyes. Jeremy knew that Damon had done something, he just knew she didn't even have to tell him. So there had to have been something there, and even if Damon said she wouldn't be able to love him, she knew she could.

"Do you want to go on a date?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth pulled back wiping at her eyes.

"Hopefully you'd let me make me self pretty before we went on a date." Elizabeth said smiling a little.

"You do look pretty though." Jeremy said and Elizabeth blushed, something she didn't do often.

"You're such a kiss ass." Elizabeth teased standing up. Jeremy stood up as well laughing.

"I mean it, you do." He said and Elizabeth smiled rolling her eyes.

"How about we go to my house?" Elizabeth asking smiling then frowned. "But I don't have my car to get there." She said realizing when she had ran off, she had well literally ran off leaving her car at the mansion.

"Where's your car?" He asked and Elizabeth sighed. She didn't really want to tell Jeremy but she knew she had to because he trusted her to be honest.

"At Stefan's," She said and Jeremy nodded. "Stefan's Damon's little brother." She admitted looking up at him as the started walking.

"Oh," Jeremy said nodding. He didn't really mind, he just didn't like Damon. There was just something…wrong about him and he was afraid for Elizabeth. "Are you friends with Stefan then, or were you there to see Damon?" he asked looking down at her.

"Stefan and I are friends, along with the other person that lives with them, Cecily Harrison, she's my best girl friend, and Stefan's my best guy friend. I love them both." Elizabeth said nodding. Jeremy had taken the pain of Damon away, she wasn't even sad anymore, she was just so happy she was with Jeremy.

"Is she that one girl you were with the first night we met? The one that kept making eyes at Stefan?" Elizabeth laughed making Jeremy smile happy to hear her laughing again.

"God, Cecily _needs _to meet you." Elizabeth said and Jeremy smiled taking her hand in his.

"So take me to meet her." Jeremy said intertwining his fingers with hers. Elizabeth chewed on her lip. "I can handle Damon, and if he tries anything I'll just kick his ass."

Elizabeth forced her best smile, but she knew if Damon did something, and Jeremy fought back, that it would not end well at all. But Jeremy looked like he really wanted to meet her, and she didn't want to refuse.

"Fine, you can meet them, plus I can get my car." Elizabeth said smiling up at Jeremy. He smiled and nodded looking forward into meeting people for Elizabeth's past.

xx

"Here's your ice." Stefan whispered to Cecily with a smile.

He and Cecily had watched as Elena had left kind of hurt about what had happened with Damon and then eventually Matthew curled up on a couch and fell asleep. Kipling was near him and Cecily had ordered everyone to be quiet, while he slept. He was really testing everyone and she knew that, but she needed some peace and quiet while it lasted.

"Thank you." Cecily replied quietly, taking the ice from him and blushing a little when Stefan sat down right next to her and held her legs on his lap.

They hadn't been this close in a really long time and she didn't know what to do—say something? He was almost with Elena now and she didn't want to ruin that for him, but what if this was the perfect place to have an 'in' with him? No…no that wasn't what was best for Stefan. Cecily didn't think she deserved him, so she kept her mouth shut.

"He's actually really adorable." Stefan told her, catching her blush and looking at Matthew to create a subject for them. "He has a _lot_ of stamina."

Cecily smiled fondly at Matthew. "He's quite a handful for a 9 year old."

"That he is—do you think this is a good idea, Cee?" Stefan asked her. "I mean come on…he's a human boy and I _know_ how you are around children."

_Stefan ran his fingers through Cecily's hair and nuzzled her neck with his nose, kissing it softly when she laughed a little. They were sitting in the park and Cecily had been cooing over a little girl at the playground. She felt torn and so did Stefan—they were vampires and kids weren't in the cards for them, but at the same time they also knew it was something they both deep down wanted._

"_She can hold her own." Cecily said happily. "Did you see how she stood up to that bully?"_

_Stefan chuckled. "Yeah, I did."_

"_Well I have to tell you that had I ever had a kid, it would have been a little girl just like that." Cecily told him grinning._

"_I don't doubt that for a second." Stefan said as he kissed her temple._

_She smiled and turned to him, kissing him softly and running her nose along his. Normally they spent the majority of their time with Damon and Elizabeth, but they liked having moments to themselves. Besides, it was nice that Stefan could talk to her about these things and not freak out…even though he wished he could give her what she wanted—and she wished that too._

"Just because I can't have my own doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to enjoy other peoples'." Cecily responded, her smile gone. "I wish his parents paid more attention to him—oh and by the way: we need to keep this place stocked with peanut butter. Matty and I both like it a lot more than we probably should."

"I'll keep that in mind." Stefan chuckled, stroking her hair absent-mindedly.

Cecily smiled a little and then felt his hand pull away when Elizabeth came in the door followed by Jeremy. It was like she suddenly didn't have a headache anymore and she was sitting up, close to Stefan who was still holding her legs. Jeremy smiled at them and Elizabeth beamed, glancing over at Matthew sleeping and smiling—he was adorable.

"This must be Matthew?" Elizabeth asked her.

Cecily smiled at him and then at Elizabeth. "Yeah, that's Matty—the best man in my life right now. I take it this is yours? Jeremy?"

"I had a feeling I'd like her." Jeremy said with a chuckle and then blushed when Cecily put her finger up to her mouth. "Sorry…he a handful?"

"Yeah. Are you acquainted with the Greys?" Cecily asked him, slipping her fingers into Stefan's hair, feeling like it wasn't as awkward with her legs on his lap if she was showing him affection.

"Yes, I am…they work a lot." Jeremy told her. "So…Lizzie tells me that you and her are old friends."

Cecily nodded and grinned. "Yeah. She, I and the Salvatores go way back."

"I'm back! It was such a lovely outing too!" Damon announced, being loud on purpose.

Matthew's eyes shot open and he sat up, realizing that there were more people there. He vaguely remembered Stefan carrying him to the couch he was on, and he knew that he didn't like Damon, but he hadn't met the other two yet. At first he wanted to run around and make a mess again, but he was groggy and so he went straight for Cecily, climbing up onto her lap and looking up at Elizabeth as he snuggled into Cecily—Elizabeth was beautiful.

"It's okay, Matty—this is just Lizzie and Jeremy." Cecily told him, stroking his hair as Stefan sat close to the two of them, both of them having to resituate for Matthew, but Stefan stayed protectively close…like he was protecting his family.

Matthew nodded slowly. "Hi, Lizzie…Jeremy."

"Damon? Get out." Cecily said with a look on her face that meant he shouldn't cross her. "I warned you earlier to let Matty nap."

"But I was—I was just so excited when I saw Lizzie brought her little puppy here, I couldn't control myself." Damon said giving Elizabeth a look as he flopped down on one of the couches, Cecily glancing at him.

Elizabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. "Damon why are you such a di—"

"—Elizabeth…" Cecily warned glancing down at Matthew and Elizabeth put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my God I am so sorry Matty." Elizabeth said walking over to him, and Matthew beamed as she crouched down in front of him, sitting up a little on Cecily's lap.

"No problem, you know you are really pretty." Matthew said smiling and Elizabeth smiled at him.

"Aw, thank you Matty, that's really sweet." Elizabeth said ruffling his hair.

"Jeremy, the nine year old is stealing your girlfriend…you must really suck." Damon said smirking at him as Jeremy chuckled a little nodding.

"I must suck? You must be the one that sucks if she's choosing me and a nine year old over you." Jeremy said and Elizabeth laughed a little.

Cecily covered her mouth to stifle her laugh, she and Stefan looking at Damon and smiling. They thought it was a rather funny situation even though Damon glared and stood up, not wanting to be in the same room anymore when he was losing this battle. Everyone in the room seemed to be against him, and he just needed to say something witty and then head off before anyone could tell him off again.

"You guys are too boring for me. I am going on another outing—oh and Lizzie," Damon said pausing at the door way, "have fun with your _extremely_ younger men."

Damon then left and Elizabeth sighed as Cecily rolled her eyes and Stefan moved to stand, Matthew still on her lap. He seemed content with Cecily right that moment, and he watched as Jeremy sat down besides her, feeling awkward just standing in the middle of the room. Stefan smiled at him and Cecily ran her fingers through Matthew's hair slowly, Matthew deciding to speak first.

"Don't worry about him Liz—he's just jealous because you think I'm cuter than him." Matty said smiling up at her and Elizabeth laughed.

"You are exactly right Matty," Elizabeth said tapping his nose with her finger then looking at Cecily.

"I should be heading back—Jeremy's going to cook me dinner." Elizabeth said standing up and Matthew pouted, Elizabeth catching his look. "Hey, Matty you know you are my number one boyfriend right?"

She leaned down towards him and Matthew beamed, glad that she had said it. Cecily smiled too since he'd taken to Elizabeth almost immediately, Jeremy not feeling concerned about it and Stefan smiling as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Really?" He asked excitedly and Cecily laughed.

"Really," Elizabeth said as Jeremy stood up, Cecily extending her hand towards Jeremy and he took it.

"Nice meeting you," Jeremy said as the shook hands, Elizabeth smiling at the two.

"I hope to see you again Jeremy—soon too." Cecily said winking at Elizabeth.

Jeremy smiled and Elizabeth took his hand, Cecily and Stefan smiling at how happy she seemed with him. The two of them were so cute together and they had someone to rely on and talk to and Cecily was so glad that Elizabeth had found someone she could trust…someone who wouldn't cheat on her just to keep himself occupied.

"I'll see you guys later—keep Damon away from my Matty." Elizabeth said and Cecily smiled laughing, Elizabeth and Jeremy walking out, and Jeremy smiled.

"She's nice," He said and Elizabeth nodded noticing Damon standing by the Porsche.

"Yes she is—she's the best person I know." Elizabeth said as Damon waved at her smiling. "What do you want now Damon?"

Jeremy leaned against the passenger side of the Porsche watching the two as Damon shrugged. He knew that Damon was just trying to get a rise out of them and it was semi working, but he didn't want to seem like the super jealous boyfriend right off the bat either. He'd take care of Damon if it came down to it because Elizabeth deserved to be treated with respect and Jeremy wanted her safe and happy.

"Nothing really, just wanted to see my beautiful ex girlfriend off," He said and Elizabeth groaned unlocking the door.

Jeremy climbed in as Elizabeth opened the door, purposely hitting Damon with it. She climbed in and Damon walked towards the front of the car. It wasn't _that_ easy to get rid of Damon and she knew that from experience, but at the same time she had to humor him since she couldn't just run him over and get it over with.

"Have fun babysitting!" Damon called laughing as Elizabeth flipped him off driving out of the drive way.

Jeremy looked over at Elizabeth as she took steady breaths calming her anger. "Was he always like that?"

"Yeah pretty much," Elizabeth said chuckling, glancing over at him. "But he can be sweet to, when he wants to."

Jeremy nodded as she said that, looking at her and keeping his focus on her. She knew he had a lot of questions for her and she had a lot of half-truths to give him as answers, and it had to happen sooner or later. Still, she wasn't going to start the conversations—she would just answer the questions that Jeremy asked her as best as she could.

"Is that why you dated him? Because he was sweet?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth sighed stopping at a red light.

"There were a lot of reasons I dated Damon, but none of those matter now because he's old news." Elizabeth said smiling at Jeremy as he nodded.

The two made it to her house a little before dusk because Elizabeth had decided to pick up pizza, and a few horror movies. Elizabeth and Jeremy sat on her couch a blanket covering the two as she laughed at him for jumping because of the movie.

"Stop it that thing was freaky." Jeremy said throwing some popcorn at her and she laughed.

"That was so adorable though, do it again?" Elizabeth said and Jeremy laughed shaking his head and Elizabeth smiled and threw popcorn out and Jeremy caught it in his mouth and she smiled.

"So you and Damon…how long did you guys date?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth sighed a little. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Jeremy wanted to take it back when he realized that the question had made her a little sad. Elizabeth smiled it off though and shook her head, trying to make sure the half truth wasn't too off base since she was supposed to be 18 right then…not that Damon was exactly a moral person to begin with…

"No, it's okay really." Elizabeth said as Jeremy pulled her legs on top of his lap. "Damon and I dated for a few years actually."

Elizabeth worded it like that because it was mostly true—the few years to her was just more like a couple decades. Jeremy looked at her nodding; she must have been pretty young when they first started dating.

"Why did you guys break up?" He asked rubbing her legs and she closed her eyes feeling a little calmer.

"Damon wasn't the best boyfriend…he cheated a lot, and I just couldn't put up with his crap anymore so I left him." She said and Jeremy nodded. "Have you been to visit Vikki?"

Elizabeth knew she was catching Jeremy a little off guard but she really wanted to know. Vikki meant a lot to Jeremy and Elizabeth still wanted to be her friend—besides, she felt guilty about Vikki being in the hospital because Damon and Cecily had put her there. Jeremy nodded as Elizabeth watched him become a little uncomfortable smiling a little.

"She's doing better. They don't know when she'll get out though, and Tyler still hasn't gone to see her." Jeremy said bitterly and Elizabeth nodded.

"Tyler yeah…did you see Tyler any today?" Elizabeth asked hoping Damon hadn't killed him and she was relieved when Jeremy nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, he was hitting on some girls. I swear it's like he doesn't even care about Vikki." Jeremy said and Elizabeth frowned.

"Well Vikki's lucky because you care about her…a lot." Elizabeth said and Jeremy saw how Elizabeth's face fell.

Jeremy smiled and pulled her onto his lap surprising her. He knew that she was feeling a little jealous of how much he cared about Vikki and he wanted her to know that he was quite close to her too. He hadn't met anyone like Elizabeth before and he really didn't know how to word it to her, but she seemed receptive enough.

"Yeah, well I care about you too." He said his fingers brushing along her cheek, and Elizabeth smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I care about you too." She said kissing him and Jeremy laid her down on the couch, kissing her gently.

xx

"Did you guys know that there was a comet coming around tonight?" Matthew asked as he zipped up his jacket.

Cecily smiled at him, nodding slowly. "Yeah…Stefan and I knew."

She and Stefan had been arguing a little when she got the call that Matthew's mother was coming to pick him up. He had watched as Cecily and Stefan began to talk about Elena and he noticed something—he noticed that Cecily was jealous. There were things he had picked up from TV and from movies, and he knew that there was something else between Cecily and Stefan that they weren't sharing with him.

"Are you going to watch it? Mom promised she'd watch it with me, and so I know it'll happen—it's Dad that doesn't follow through with promises." Matthew explained to them, smiling when Cecily knelt in front of him to ruffle his hair and fix his coat. "You're a good nanny."

Cecily smiled and tapped his nose with her finger. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Matty."

"You two should watch it together." Matthew suggested, and then looked up at the door as a knock sounded. "That's probably my mother."

"I'll get it." Stefan said hurriedly.

He was just as nervous about what Matthew had said as Cecily was—if the nine year-old could catch on that they liked each other, then so could everyone else around them. Besides, how was he going to tell Cecily he _wanted_ to watch the comet with her when she had Patrick? Elena was going to be there watching it with most of the town and there would be a candle lighting ceremony and everything and he needed Elena…he felt drawn to her…but he missed how things used to be with Cecily.

"Mrs. Grey." Stefan greeted the business woman.

She smiled at him as Matthew and Cecily came up to them. "Stefan. There's my boy—so how are you? Did you have a good day? I'll make sure that you have a key tomorrow, Cecily."

"I like Cess." Matthew admitted nodding, taking his mother by the hand.

"He already gave you a nickname—that's a good sign." Mrs. Grey told Cecily, smiling as Cecily did. "You both have a nice night and I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely." Cecily replied and she looked at Matthew. "Sweet dreams tonight, Matty."

"You too, Cess." Matthew responded and then he and his mother were off to the car.

Cecily and Stefan waved at them, both of them glancing at each other when Stefan closed the door. It was just the two of them and it was definitely getting dark, meaning they needed to head to the ceremony to watch the comet. At the same time, once Stefan opened his mouth to propose the idea that she go with him, Cecily had already opened up her mouth to speak.

"You should probably go meet Elena." Cecily said, heading into the kitchen.

Stefan sighed, noting her jealousy. "Really? We're talking about Elena _again_?"

"Oh, I'm sorry…is her name not Elena? I mean it could be Katherine—can't tell them apart." Cecily responded, grabbing a packet of blood out of the fridge. "Sorry…that was uncalled for. I bet Elena is nothing like Katherine."

"She isn't." Stefan told her, taking the packet from her and setting it on the counter. "Cecily, just talk to me."

"Stefan…I've never been good at talking things out, all right? Klaus taught me to go for what I wanted, and to keep myself safe and it's safer for me not to talk." Cecily told him, reaching for the packet of blood and sighing when he shook his head and moved it farther out of his reach. "Don't you want to watch the comet with Elena?"

Stefan shook his head. "No…I want to watch the comet with _you_ like we did 145 years ago, Cecily."

Honestly Cecily didn't know _why_ she was surprised that he had remembered about that—she certainly had. They knew which comet was making an appearance and they knew they had watched it together just the two of them last time it had come around before Elizabeth. It was the one thing that Cecily and Stefan really shared on their own and it was one thing Cecily didn't want to have to give up.

Cecily looked Stefan in the eye. "But what about Elena? I mean you found her, and she's good for you, and you like her, and she's everything you're trying to walk away from, and—"

He cut her off by crashing his lips into hers, catching her completely off guard and yet not giving her the space to pull away. It seemed like the perfect way to stop her babbling and for just a moment Stefan felt close to her again. Her lips moving against his, her hand cupping his face—so he wormed his fingers into her hair and held her close until he felt her resist and the moment for him was over. Stefan wasn't going to force anything on her…this was her call.

"Stefan, I can't." Cecily whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. "I promised myself that I would let you move forward with your life and I don't want you to move backwards, okay? Let's just…let's just watch the comet here, all right? I'd like to watch it with you."

Stefan nodded and smiled, hiding his disappointment well. "Yeah…I'd like for this to be our tradition."

"Me too." Cecily admitting, grabbing the packet of blood and then pointed out to the back lawn. "Shall we?"

xx

Elizabeth sighed as she glanced at Jeremy asleep on her couch. She needed to wake him up because they were going to go to Mystic Grill before they watched the comet, but he looked so peaceful on the couch. There was just something about him sleeping there that made her feel so calm and so she decided to let him wake up on his own…almost.

Elizabeth smiled and then walked towards the mess on her coffee table. She gathered up their glasses and the empty pizza box which made Jeremy wake up a little. He watched as Elizabeth cleaned up their mess smiling, noticing she had changed clothes. She had changed out of her dress and put on a short frilled white skirt and a dark red blouse. She had curled her hair as well, making Jeremy smile at how beautiful she was.

"You shouldn't stare," Elizabeth said smiling and Jeremy chuckled. "Are you still wanting to go to the Grill? I mean if you'd rather do something else its fine."

She sat down on the coffee table and smiled at him, Jeremy smiling back and then sitting up to crack his back. He'd actually napped rather well, but it was a couch and not nearly as comfortable as he had been hoping for.

"Of course I still want to go to the Grill—whenever you're ready I'm ready." He told her, Elizabeth smiling and nodding before she sighed and stood up.

"Well I'm ready now so let's go." She said and Jeremy smiled standing up following Elizabeth out to her car.

Elizabeth and Jeremy walked into the grill, Elizabeth spotting Tyler playing pull with his friends, a bandage on his neck. He was hiding what she had done to him and she didn't really want to be reminded of it nor near him after what she had done. It was almost too much of a hassle and she just didn't want to have to talk to him or pretend to be interested in his wound.

"Wonder what happened to him." Jeremy said looking over at Tyler and Elizabeth shrugged looking away as Jeremy looked at her.

"Hey look a table, let's sit there." She said dragging Jeremy to a table that was farthest away from Tyler.

Jeremy smiled at Elizabeth as she adjusted herself on the seat, becoming nervous. Elizabeth never got nervous, and now being here with Jeremy she felt incredibly human and that was new for her. She had been around for a while now and she had gotten so used to being in her own skin and now suddenly Jeremy had her feeling…nervous.

"Are you hungry?" Jeremy asked catching Elizabeth off guard and she looked at him forgetting he didn't know she was a vampire.

"No I already fe—I mean we already ate pizza I'm full." Elizabeth said giving him a nervous laugh and Jeremy smiled at her and Elizabeth chewed on her lip.

"Elizabeth!" Elizabeth turned to see Caroline running over to her and Elizabeth smiled at her as she stood beside Jeremy.

"Hey Caroline," Elizabeth said smiling as Caroline caught her breath.

"Okay, so I was wondering since I'm desperate if you could possibly join the cheerleading team?" She asked and Jeremy choked on his drink and Elizabeth laughed.

"Please just say 'yes'—I mean you fit the criteria: you're hot, you're peppy and you look like you're loud—no offense." Caroline said and Jeremy was looking at Elizabeth holding back his laughs.

Elizabeth shot him a look then turned back to Caroline. "Thank you for calling me hot and of course I'll join."

Caroline squealed and wrapped her arms around Elizabeth's neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Caroline chanted then pulled back. "Okay so practice is tomorrow—just wear something you would if you were exercising and you're good to go."

Elizabeth nodded and then Caroline excused herself to go looking for someone 'tall, hot and mysterious'. It made her smile a little because it seemed like such a Caroline thing to say and then Elizabeth turned back to Jeremy. He had this look on his face and she just kind of looked at him, wishing he'd say something already.

"Cheerleader," Jeremy said looking at Elizabeth and she smiled shrugging.

"What? Caroline was practically begging and I'm a nice person." Elizabeth said and Jeremy chuckled shaking his head.

"You really are one of a kind Liz." Jeremy said smiling at her and Elizabeth blushed.

"How so?" She asked putting her hands on the table and Jeremy looked her in the eyes.

"You just are…I honestly have never met anyone else like you." He said and Elizabeth smiled and he leaned in kissing her, pulling back smiling after a moment and Elizabeth closed her eyes. "I'm going to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Elizabeth sighed as Jeremy headed for the bathroom. She looked around searching for Stefan or Cecily, wondering where they were. Honestly she had expected them to be here—or at least Stefan. It had seemed like Stefan had wanted to get cozy with Elena and she thought maybe they'd be watching the comet together. Cecily had Patrick to potentially watch the comet with and there just seemed to be no logical explanation as to why neither of them were in sight already. What could they possibly be doing?

"Vikki what are you doing here?" Elizabeth heard Jeremy say and her head snapped in the direction of his voice.

"Fighting with Robert about my schedule, you think getting ripped up by a rabid animal would merit an extra sick day." Vikki said and Elizabeth frowned feeling bad for her.

"You feeling okay?" He asked her.

"I hurt," Vikki said and Elizabeth frowned knowing that Vikki was using Jeremy for drugs, yet again.

"The doctor gave you something right?" Jeremy asked and Vikki smiled.

"Yeah that kids stuff—nothing with an 'O' in it." Jeremy laughed and Vikki smiled Elizabeth frowning. "I think they were on to me."

"Here," Jeremy said and Elizabeth watched as he pulled out a bottle of pills, handing them over to Vikki. "Knock yourself out—literally."

"Thanks Jer," She said taking some and Elizabeth watched as Jeremy straightened up, like he was going to ask her something.

"So are you gonna watch the comet later?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth was up, leaving a twenty on the table but she wasn't quick enough to get away from the two before Vikki responded to him.

"I hadn't really thought about it, but I can be talked into it." Elizabeth pushed open the door and left, feeling hurt and jealous.

Elizabeth sighed crossing her arms over her chest walking down the street as she spotted Cecily, frowning at her. There she was and Stefan wasn't with her and neither was Patrick and Elizabeth really just needed her friend. Cecily smiled at her as she saw Elizabeth approaching her, opening up her arms and letting Elizabeth fall into them. She had actually come with Stefan, but he was grabbing them something and meeting her at the grill, knowing that she wanted to spend some time with the rest of the town too.

"You look upset, Lizzie." Cecily told her, kissing the top of her head. "What's up?"

Elizabeth shook her head slowly. "Nothing, I just…I think Jeremy still kind of has feelings for Vikki—I mean maybe I'm just jealous but I don't know. She uses him and he doesn't see it."

"Damn girl, you have it bad." Cecily told her as Elizabeth pulled back out of her arms and pouted, laughing when Elizabeth pushed on her shoulder a bit.

"I do not!" Elizabeth said as a blush rose in her cheeks. "I just like him a lot."

"I can tell." Cecily replied with a smile and then she chewed on her lip a moment. "Want to hear good news?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "I could use some good news right about now."

"Stefan and I are watching the comet together—in fact we already saw it a little at the mansion, we just wanted to get a better view…well that and I wanted to jump him and around people I have to stop myself from doing that." Cecily said, her words simply spilling out of her mouth.

Cecily was rather happy about it—excited even. She had missed being close to Stefan and she wished that the two of them could find the same common ground. Cecily just didn't know how to get it back without feeling like she was doing something for him that wasn't _good_ for him. He came to Mystic Falls to get away from his past and she was his past…she couldn't force herself on him no matter how in love with him she still was.

"You _so_ want to get him back!" Elizabeth teased and laughed when Cecily rolled her eyes but most definitely blushed.

"I do not!" Cecily hushed her, smiling at her and shrugging. "I'm just glad he and I are still friends, you know?"

Elizabeth nodded at her. "Yeah, I get it."

"Good." Cecily told her and then she wrapped her arm around her friend and pulled her close. "Look…I know you don't want to hear this from me, but I really do think that you should try and make this work with Jeremy. Damon hasn't changed for the better yet, and though I know you love him and you always will, I think you should let Jeremy show you what a real, solid, loving, _healthy_ relationship is like. Then if you still feel like you have two men in your heart, you should pick—choose between Damon and Jeremy. Make Damon work for it…he can't be allowed to continue thinking he can have anything he wants just because he wants it—he has to start being more aware of other peoples' feelings."

Elizabeth looked at Cecily, Cecily nodding at her and Elizabeth sighed nodding a little.

"I know I should but…it's hard to do, I mean Jeremy is such an amazing guy, but Damon won't let it happen. You saw him today and as soon as I start getting closer to Jeremy, he's going to do something stupid…and he's going to hurt me." Elizabeth said and Cecily frowned a little as Stefan walked over, and he wrapped his arm around Elizabeth, kissing her hair.

"Elizabeth you live your life—you've got a long one…let _me_ handle Damon." Stefan said and Elizabeth nodded.

"If you see Jer, tell him I went home because I wasn't feeling well, and to call me." Elizabeth said with a smile, Stefan and Cecily both nodded, watching as she walked away.

Elizabeth walked down the street, watching as everyone around her lit candles, and laughed while watching the sky. She sighed a little, pulling her jacket close to herself. She still loved Damon, there was no doubt she did, but she wasn't going to sit back and let him treat her like she didn't matter—like he didn't care about her—because he did, and she knew he did…but she wasn't going to wait any longer. Damon had been playing this game with her for centuries, and now that she had met someone like Jeremy: kind, sweet, stable…she wasn't going to let him ruin it for her, no way, no how.

"No, please don't."

Elizabeth's head snapped in the direction of Vikki's voice, to see Damon holding her by the elbow, both of them standing on a building high enough where the fall would kill her. Damon let go of Vikki's elbow and she screamed, Damon laughing grabbing onto her again and Elizabeth growled, and was in front of Damon within seconds. Damon saw Elizabeth and he grinned glancing at Vikki as she cried.

"Lizzie, help me please." She sobbed and Elizabeth looked at Damon as he grinned at her.

"Howdy Liz. Here to save your little druggie of a friend?" He asked and Elizabeth growled, Damon grinning more, liking the effect he had made. "I love it when you growl at me. How about I let her fall and you and I have some roof top sex like old times?"

"Damon, what the Hell do you think you are doing?" Cecily snapped, Elizabeth and Damon both turning to her, too busy with each other to have realized she was there, along with Stefan. "Let the poor girl go."

Damon looked down below them on the ledge on top of the building. "Really? Okay."

He went to let Vikki go and she cried out, Damon instead throwing her to the rooftop, Stefan leaning down to her as Cecily stepped up to him, anger on her face. Elizabeth was hurt and Stefan was scared, but Cecily was just pissed off—she hadn't come back into town just to have Damon ruin _everything_ by torturing Vikki.

"What exactly do you gain from this, Damon?" Cecily asked him.

Damon laughed a little. "I'm glad you asked, Cess."

Just like that, Damon started talking to Vikki, asking her all sorts of questions about what had attacked her in the forest…_who_. When she started to say that it was Damon, Damon compelled her—told her that it was Stefan, and Stefan stood there, defenseless to stop him.

"Damon, stop it!" Elizabeth yelled at him, hurt that Damon would do this to his own brother. "Stop lying to her!"

Cecily was to Damon in a moment, her fingers wrapped around his neck. "This isn't what we came back for, Damon—this isn't going to happen."

"What are you?" Vikki asked Cecily, sobbing now, scared out of her mind.

Elizabeth hurried over to her, looking at Cecily when Cecily told her not to compel her. At first Elizabeth didn't think that that made any sense—_not_ to compel Vikki—but then she realized that Cecily was cleaning up this mess. It was in that moment that Elizabeth realized that Cecily and Damon were keeping things from everyone else and that made the pain set in even more.

"Stefan chose his lifestyle and you are going to respect it, Damon." Cecily told him, Damon choking a little bit. "Hold up your left hand if you understand me."

Damon did, Cecily letting go of his neck and going over to Vikki and Elizabeth, Vikki still afraid of her, but Cecily compelling Vikki just with her voice. She was so old that compelling for her was something that even _Damon_ couldn't break, and Elizabeth still trusted her enough to fix it…even with that sinking feeling in her gut.

"Vikki…Sweetheart? You were attacked by an animal. You took some pills, it made you trip out, and you wandered out here to the rooftop. You freaked out, but you're fine now…go back inside." Cecily told her calmly.

Vikki nodded and then suddenly she was calm, laughing a little and then heading inside after telling them all she was just fine. Cecily whirled around to Damon and Damon gave her a look, Stefan explaining to him that he wanted to be far away from him and Damon told him that he was glad to be home…that he was staying for a while.

"If you stay, Damon, this isn't happening again—I will break you." Cecily warned him. "God, Damon…I love you, but you _can't_ do this. I try to stand up for you because you're my friend, but if you do this again…_don't_ do this again."

Cecily shook her head sadly and ran her fingers through her hair, moving out of Stefan's reach and heading towards the Salvatore Mansion. She just wanted a place to clear her head and place to think—she and Damon had come here for a reason and she felt like what Damon did was her fault. He was her responsibility and if he screwed up and exposed them…then it was all on her head.

xx

Elizabeth glared at Damon as Cecily walked away, Stefan slowly following after her.

"So, we're alone again…how about that rooftop sex?" Damon asked and Elizabeth shook her head.

"You have no care about anything in this world Damon…you're a heartless dick and I don't want anything to do with you." Elizabeth said and Damon chuckled a little smiling, and took a step towards Elizabeth, putting himself right in front of her.

"You forget Elizabeth…no matter what you say, or what you do, you'll always be mine." Damon said his breath warm on Elizabeth's face, as he slowly pressed his lips against hers.

Elizabeth gripped Damon's shirt, and then pushed him away, sending him flying against the air conditioner, breaking it.

"I'm not yours Damon…not anymore." Elizabeth said and she left, leaving Damon in the ruble with his thoughts.

Elizabeth walked down the street, heading for her Porsche, taking a breath as she spotted Jeremy leaning against it. She could run the other way and just go home by foot, leaving her Porsche here, or she could man up and talk to Jeremy. Either one seemed bad enough to her, but she couldn't risk her baby getting stolen…so she took a breath and headed towards the car, her heels giving away her silent approach and Jeremy turned to her and smiled a little.

"Stefan told me you were sick, but then I saw the car and I was pretty sure you wouldn't leave it here." Jeremy said, towering over her and she nodded.

"Yeah…I was thinking about it though to tell you the truth." She said softly, twisting the keys in her hand, avoiding Jeremy's eyes.

"So…why are you getting Stefan to lie to me? And why did you skip out on me at the grill?" Jeremy asked and Elizabeth sighed.

She could compel him right now, to get him out of her way and forget all of this happened—take the easy way out like she did so often now—but she _really_ liked Jeremy…and she wanted to try…she owed herself that. Cecily was right…she had to try this and she had to let someone in who actually _cared_ about her well being.

"I…over heard you and Vikki talking." She said looking up at Jeremy and he nodded slowly.

"Ab—"

"No," Elizabeth interrupted him, shaking her head "Jer, I get it.…you love Vikki. I know you do and I'm getting all clingy—we aren't even dating! Be with Vikki…she makes you happy…and you deserve to be happy. You're a great guy and like I said I'm…I'm messed up. I've got all these issues, and a crazy ex boyfriend…it's too much for someone to handle."

Elizabeth was shaking her head, letting the pain from her words sink in, not looking at Jeremy. She couldn't bear to meet his eyes right then because she knew they'd betray her, and then Jeremy surprised her. He grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers together.

"Liz, I don't care…_you_ make me happy. I'll handle all your issues—screw Damon. You're too good for him, and if he tries to get in my way, I'll handle it. But I want _you_…I want to be with you." Jeremy said, stroking Elizabeth's cheek with his free hand, resting it on her neck.

"You mean that?" Elizabeth asked, Jeremy smiling leaning towards her.

"I mean it more than anything." He said, then pressed his lips against hers, Elizabeth wrapping her arms around his neck, laughing as he picked her up.

Damon glared; watching from the safety of the rooftops as Jeremy set Elizabeth down, giving her another kiss before they climbed into her car, driving away. Jeremy was taking her from him. She was the only thing he had left, even if she wasn't really with him and he wasn't about to let that happen…Elizabeth was his.

**Note: And there you have it! A **_**really long**_** second chapter! More when we can! Feedback is always appreciated!**


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